Chapter 1 Statement of Legislative Intent

The Residence Districts established in this Resolution are designed to promote and protect public health, safety, and general welfare. These general goals include, among others, the following specific purposes:

1. To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for residential development to meet the housing needs of the City's present and expected future population, with due allowance for the need for a choice of sites.


2. To protect residential areas against fire, explosions, toxic and noxious matter, radiation, and other hazards, and against offensive noise, vibration, smoke and other particulate matter, odorous matter, heat, humidity, glare, and other objectionable influences.


3. To protect residential areas, as far as possible, against heavy traffic and against through traffic of all kinds.


4. To protect residential areas against congestion, as far as possible, by regulating the density of population and the bulk of buildings in relation to the land around them and to one another, and by providing for off-street parking spaces; to require the provision of open space in residential areas wherever practicable; and to encourage the provision of additional open space by permitting moderately higher bulk and density with better standards of open space, in order to open up residential areas to light and air, to provide open areas for rest and recreation, and to break the monotony of continuous building bulk, and thereby to provide a more desirable environment for urban living in a congested metropolitan area.


5. To protect the character of certain designated areas of historic and architectural interest, where the scale of building development is important, by limitations on the height of buildings.


6. To provide for access of light and air to windows and for privacy, as far as possible, by controls over the spacing and height of buildings and other structures.


7. To provide appropriate space for those educational, religious, recreational, health, and similar facilities which serve the needs of the nearby residents, which generally perform their own activities more effectively in a residential environment, and which do not create objectionable influences.


8. To provide freedom of architectural design, in order to encourage the development of more attractive and economic building forms.


9. To promote the most desirable use of land and direction of building development in accord with a well-considered plan, to promote stability of residential development, to protect the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses, to conserve the value of land and buildings, and to protect the City's tax revenues.

These districts are designed to provide a suitable open character for single-family detached dwellings at low densities. These districts also include community facilities and open uses that serve the residents of these districts or benefit from an open residential environment.

This district is designed to provide for large single-family detached dwellings on narrow zoning lots. This district also includes community facilities and open uses that serve the residents of the district or benefit from a residential environment.

This district may be mapped only within the Special Ocean Parkway District and Community District 14 in the Borough of Queens.

These districts are designed to provide for single- or two-family detached dwellings on zoning lots of specified lot widths. R3A Districts also permit zero lot line buildings. These districts also include community facilities and open uses that serve the residents of these districts or benefit from a residential environment.

These districts are designed to provide for single- or two-family detached or semi-detached dwellings. R4-1 Districts also permit zero lot line buildings. These districts also include community facilities and open uses that serve the residents of these districts or benefit from a residential environment.

These districts are designed to provide for all types of residential buildings, in order to permit a broad range of housing types, with appropriate standards for each district on density, open space, and spacing of buildings. However, R4B Districts are limited to single- or two-family dwellings, and zero lot line buildings are not permitted in R3-2, R4 (except R4- 1 and R4B), and R5 (except R5B) Districts. The various districts are mapped in relation to a desirable future residential density pattern, with emphasis on accessibility to transportation facilities and to various community facilities, and upon the character of existing development. These districts also include community facilities and open uses which serve the residents of these districts or benefit from a residential environment.

R7-3 and R9-1 Districts may be mapped only within the waterfront area and in the Special Mixed Use Districts and, in addition, R7- 3 Districts may be mapped in the Special Long Island City Mixed Use District.