81-674 Ground Floor Use Provisions

(a)        Within the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea

For buildings developed or enlarged on the ground floor on zoning lots located within the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea, as shown on Map 2 (East Midtown Subdistrict and Subareas) in Appendix A of this Chapter, where a building fronts upon a designated retail street, as shown on Map 3 (Retail and Street Wall Continuity), any portion of such building's ground floor level frontage along such designated retail street allocated to above- or below-grade public realm improvements provided in accordance with a special permit pursuant to Section 81-632 (Special permit for transfer of development rights from landmarks to the Vanderbilt Corridor Subarea) or Section 81-633 (Special permit for Grand Central public realm improvements) shall be excluded from the retail continuity requirements of Section 81-42 (Retail Continuity Along Designated Streets).

(b)        Within the Grand Central Core Area

For buildings developed or enlarged on the ground floor after August 26, 1992, in the Grand Central Core Area, as shown on Map 2, building lobby entrances shall be required on each street frontage of the zoning lot where such street frontage is greater than 75 feet in length, except that if a zoning lot has frontage on more than two streets, building entrances shall be required only on two street frontages. Each required building entrance shall lead directly to the building lobby. Buildings developed from May 13, 1982, to August 25, 1992, shall be subject to the provisions of Section 81-47 (Major Building Entrances).

Required building entrances on opposite street frontages shall be connected directly to the building lobby by providing a through block connection in accordance with paragraph (h) of Section 37-53 (Design Standards for Pedestrian Circulation Spaces), except that such through block connection shall be located at least 50 feet from the nearest north/south wide street.

Each required building entrance shall include a building entrance recess area, as defined in paragraph (b) of Section 37-53, except that for developments or enlargements with frontage on Madison Avenue, Lexington Avenue or 42nd Street, the width of a building entrance recess area shall not be greater than 40 feet parallel to the street line and there may be only one building entrance recess area on each such street frontage.

(c)        Along narrow streets of qualifying sites in the Grand Central Core Area

For buildings developed or, where permitted, enlarged on the ground floor on qualifying sites in the Grand Central Core Area, as shown on Map 2, a minimum of 50 percent of a building's ground floor level street wall frontage along a narrow street shall be limited to retail, personal service or amusement uses permitted by the underlying zoning district regulations, but not including uses in Use Groups 6B, 6E, 7C, 7D, 8C, 8D, 9B, 10B, 11 and 12D or automobile showrooms or plumbing, heating or ventilating equipment showrooms. Such ground floor level retail, personal services or amusement uses shall comply with the transparency provisions of Section 81-42.