ZR 28-14 and ZR 28-31: Corridor Floor Area Deductions

Disclaimer: This post is based on a partial review of ZRD1 approvals. A more thorough analysis of all ZRD1’s approved by the department may lead to alternate conclusions. In addition, department practice may have evolved in more recent approvals. The ZRD1 Project strives to be accurate and fair-minded and we welcome clarifying information from the department or anyone who has better information on the subject discussed below. Please email info@zrd1.com with any questions or concerns.

July 2024 Update - The City of Yes for Economic Opportunity text amendment makes portions of these blog posts obsolete.  Some text sections have been reorganized and links to section references may no longer be accurate.  More importantly, the text amendment opens a new chapter in New York City zoning analysis.  Until such time that these posts can be updated, please consider this post as representative of NYC zoning prior to the enactment of the City of Yes text amendments.

One of the main benefits of Quality Housing bulk regulations is the potential to deduct corridor floor area. Per section 28-14, fifty percent of the floor area is deductible if the number of units served by an elevator core is below certain thresholds. The other fifty percent of floor area is deductible per section 28-31 if a window is visible from fifty percent of the corridor or from the vertical circulation core. With so much floor area at stake, it is no wonder that plan examiners have raised objections to some of the ways in which these deductions have been achieved.

28-14 Daylight in Corridors

Section 28-14 reads:

The section is unambiguous, but there have been several plan exam objections when the window is only visible from the elevator core rather than from 50% of the corridor. The typical response from the Department is summarized in this 2019 ZRD1 approval for a project at 42-20 27th Street (Queens):

28-31 Density Per Corridor

The use of the density deduction is obvious on typical residential floors. Section 28-31 reads:

An interesting use of this deduction is on the ground floor, where a properly designed layout could allow for the deduction of the lobby area as well as the corridor area. Provided that at least one residential unit is served by a corridor on the ground floor, we can utilize section 28-31 to deduct half of the corridor area. If that corridor exits through the lobby, then the lobby is an essential part of the corridor and can be partially deducted from the building floor area. Plan examiners don’t always agree, but multiple ZRD1s confirm the Department has allowed for the deduction in the past.

Here is an example from 1409 Flatbush Ave:

Quality Housing Corridor Deductions at Lobby

The ground floor apartment is served by a corridor that extends into the lobby area. In addition, there is a window visible from the vertical circulation core. The Department approval is typical of other ZRD1s on the same issue:

In this case, 100% of the lobby and corridor areas were deducted by utilizing sections 28-14 and 28-31. Of course, Department interpretation may evolve on this subject and these ZRD1's apply only to the projects for which they were issued.