Manhattan · NYC Public Data
Buildable City
A land use transparency map for New York City
Buildable City maps Manhattan's underused parcels — surface parking lots, vacant and
gap lots, underbuilt sites, and community gardens — using official NYC public datasets.
Over 2,700 candidate parcels are shown with zoning district, ownership type, land use
classification, and estimated housing capacity.
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What parcels are shown?
- Surface parking lots — tax lots classified as parking facilities (MapPLUTO land use code 10). Color varies by ownership: private vs. city-owned.
- Vacant and gap lots — land use code 11 or lots with zero built floor area on record.
- Underbuilt parcels — lots where existing buildings use less than 25% of the zoning-allowed floor area ratio (FAR).
- Community gardens and small greenspaces — GreenThumb-registered gardens, NYC Parks open space parcels, and parcels with public-access land use codes.
- Institutional underused land — publicly-owned or institutional facilities with significant unused lot area relative to zoning capacity.
Data sources
All data comes from official NYC public datasets accessed via the NYC Open Data portal
or agency direct downloads. No proprietary data is used. Primary sources include:
- MapPLUTO (NYC DCP) — parcel-level zoning, land use, ownership, and FAR
- GreenThumb Community Gardens (NYC Parks) — active community garden records
- POPS (NYC DCP) — privately owned public spaces with legal access requirements
- DCAS City-Owned Properties — city-owned and managed parcels
- Building Footprints (NYC DoITT) — built area per lot
- Digital Tax Map (NYC DoF) — parcel boundary polygons
How housing capacity is estimated
For parcels with residential zoning, Buildable City estimates potential additional
housing units by computing the buildable square footage — the gap between what the
zoning allows and what currently exists — multiplied by an 0.82 efficiency factor,
then divided by an assumed average unit size (650, 800, or 1,000 sq ft).
These are illustrative estimates only. Actual development capacity
depends on setback requirements, height limits, contextual zoning, landmark
restrictions, and other site-specific conditions. Do not rely on these figures for
planning or investment decisions.
Methodology and caveats
All classifications are rule-based inferences from public data — not legal
determinations. Buildable City does not claim any parcel is improperly used, vacant
without permission, or should be developed. Some parcels may have deed restrictions,
landmark designations, or site conditions not captured in the datasets.
Manhattan only (v1). Data is updated periodically with each new MapPLUTO release.
Not affiliated with NYC government.
Buildable City · Manhattan only · Built with NYC public datasets ·
Labels are estimates, not legal determinations