Buildings developed in the Dutch Kills subdistrict on Long Island City may qualify for additional floor area for certain uses including television, radio, film studio / production studios.
- Special Long Island City Mixed Use District (LIC)
- Dutch Kills Subdistrict
- FAR for TV, Radio, and Film Studios
Special Long Island City Mixed Use District (LIC)
New York City is divided into different Zoning Districts including “Special Purpose Districts“. Long Island City has a Special Zoning District called the Special Long Island City Mixed Use District or “LIC”. The primary focus of this special district is to create mixed use zoning where areas have Manufacturing and Residential Use in the same zoning district.
LIC Subdistricts
- Hunters Point Subdistrict
- Court Square Subdistrict
- Queens Plaza Subdistrict
- Dutch Kills Subdistrict
This post will focus on the Dutch Kills Subdistrict Zoning rules for TV, Radio, and Film Studios.
Additional Floor Area for TV, Radio, and Film studios
Floor Area Ratio or FAR is a zoning calculation that determines how many square feet one can develop on a given property. In the LIC Special Mixed Use District there is additional FAR available for certain uses in Dutch Kills Subdistrict.
If you are in an M1-2 Zoning District with R5B, R5D, or R6A Mixed Zoning you can get additional FAR for your building beyond the normal limits.
M1-2 paired with R5B or R5D
In Dutch Kills an M1-2 Zoning district paired with an R5B or R5D zoning district can achieve a higher FAR of 3 for certain uses. The maximum building FAR is increased to 3 if the additional Floor Area goes to certain uses. Example uses would be Radio, Television, or Film Studios including sound stage or production facility.
M1-2 paired with R6A
In Dutch Kills an M1-2 Zoning district paired with an R6 zoning district can achieve a higher FAR of 4 for certain uses. The maximum building FAR is increased to 4 if the additional Floor Area goes to certain uses. Example uses would be Radio, Television, or Film Studios including sound stage or production facility.
NYC Codes
As an architect I study zoning and building codes closely. NYC Zoning Codes are complicated and quite involved. In this article, we reviewed some of the basic regulations with regards to Zoning for Production Studios in LIC. This analysis does not assume to cover every possible issue or condition, but provide a general overview. This post does not substitute the NYC Zoning or Building Codes.
Thank you for reading our blog post on Radio, Television, and Film zoning in LIC.
I hope this was helpful. Please leave questions and comments below. If you would like to speak with an architect you can contact us directly.
This post was written by Jorge Fontan AIA a Registered Architect and owner of New York City architecture firm Fontan Architecture. Jorge Fontan has earned 3 degrees in the study of architecture including two degrees from the City University of New York and a Masters Degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University. Jorge has a background in construction and has been practicing architecture for 20 years where he has designed renovations and new developments of various building types.
