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Zoning in Forest Hills, Queens

What is Forest Hills zoned?

Forest Hills's most common district is R4B: 1,712 of its 7,547 tax lots (22.7%) are in R4B, based on PLUTO 26v2 lots inside the 2020 NTA boundary. R4B allows a standard residential FAR of 1.00 and a maximum height of 25 ft for standard buildings (ZR 23-21, ZR 23-422). Check any Forest Hills address free on Zohgo.

Forest Hills is mostly low-rise R3 and R4 blocks, with R6 and R7-1 apartment districts.

Tax lots
7,547PLUTO 26v2
Most common
R4B22.7% of lots
Commercial overlay
442lots (5.9%)
Median lot
2,500 sq ftlot area

Forest Hills splits into two very different places on the zoning map. 6,816 of its 7,547 tax lots (90.3%) are in R1 through R5 districts: R4B (1,712), R3-2 (1,382), R4 (1,242), R3A (1,165), R1-2A (546) and R2 (417) lead. Most of these limit housing to one- and two-family homes unless the lot is a qualifying residential site (ZR 22-122).

The apartment side is R6 (296 lots) and R7-1 (289 lots), non-contextual districts whose standard FAR rises within 100 feet of a wide street (ZR 23-22). PLUTO also tags 112 lots with the Special Forest Hills District (ZR Article VIII, Chapter 6). Unlike many brownstone neighborhoods, PLUTO shows no lots in a designated historic district here.

Zoning districts in Forest Hills by tax lot

Zoning district (zonedist1)Tax lotsShareStandard residential FARMax height (standard residences)
R4B1,71222.7%1.00max 25 ft
R3-21,38218.3%0.75max 35 ft (25 ft perimeter wall / 35 ft ridge for 1-2 family detached, semi-detached or zero lot line homes)
R41,24216.5%1.00max 35 ft (25 ft perimeter wall / 35 ft ridge for 1-2 family detached, semi-detached or zero lot line homes)
R3A1,16515.4%0.7525 ft perimeter wall, 35 ft ridge (pitched-roof envelope)
R1-2A5467.2%0.7525 ft perimeter wall, 35 ft ridge (pitched-roof envelope)
R24175.5%0.7525 ft perimeter wall, 35 ft ridge (pitched-roof envelope)
R62963.9%2.20 (3.00 within 100 ft of a wide street)base 30-45 ft, max 55 ft (40-65 ft base, 75 ft max within 100 ft of a wide street)
R7-12893.8%3.44 (4.00 within 100 ft of a wide street)base 40-65 ft, max 75 ft (base 40-75 ft, max 85 ft within 100 ft of a wide street)
R3-12072.7%0.7525 ft perimeter wall, 35 ft ridge (pitched-roof envelope)
R5580.8%1.50base up to 35 ft, max 45 ft
C4-4A (commercial)550.7%4.00 (as R7A, its residential equivalent)
R3X510.7%0.7525 ft perimeter wall, 35 ft ridge (pitched-roof envelope)
All other districts (14)1271.7%
Total7,547100%

Source: PLUTO 26v2, field zonedist1 (the district covering the largest part of each lot), lots inside the 2020 NTA boundary QN0602. FAR and heights are the ZR 23-21 / 23-22 and ZR 23-421 / 23-422 / 23-432 limits for standard residences; qualifying affordable or senior housing can go higher. Commercial districts use their residential equivalent from ZR 34-112.

What the main districts allow

What can you build on your Forest Hills lot?

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Commercial overlays

442 lots (5.9%) carry a commercial overlay: C1-2 on 174 lots, C1-3 on 144 lots, C2-3 on 112 lots, C2-2 on 7 lots, C2-4 on 5 lots. An overlay sits on top of a residence district and allows local retail and services, usually on the ground floor of avenue and corridor buildings, while the residential rules of the underlying district still apply. For a zoning lot with only commercial use, the overlay FAR is 1.00 where the overlay is mapped in R1, R2, R3-1, R3A or R3X, 1.60 in R3-2, and 2.00 in R4 and every higher residence district (ZR 33-121).

Special districts

129 lots (1.7%) are split by a district boundary (PLUTO splitzone). On those, each portion follows its own district; see split zoning lots.

Worked example

Take a 2,500 sq ft lot in R4B, close to the neighborhood's median lot size. At the standard FAR of 1.00, the maximum residential floor area is 2,500 x 1.00 = 2,500 sq ft (ZR 23-21). With qualifying residential site rules the FAR is 1.50, so 2,500 x 1.50 = 3,750 sq ft. Unless the lot is a qualifying residential site, R4B is limited to single- or two-family residences (detached, semi-detached, attached or zero lot line) (ZR 22-122), so the realistic result is one building with one or two homes using up to that floor area.

How we counted

We took every tax lot in PLUTO 26v2 (NYC Department of City Planning, August 2026), kept lots whose latitude and longitude fall inside the 2020 Neighborhood Tabulation Area polygon for Forest Hills (QN0602), and counted the zoning district PLUTO lists first (zonedist1). Lot counts are not land area: one large lot counts the same as a 20-foot rowhouse lot. Zoning maps change through rezonings, so always confirm the district for a specific address.

Forest Hills zoning FAQ

What is the most common zoning district in Forest Hills?

R4B. In PLUTO 26v2, 1,712 of the 7,547 tax lots inside the 2020 Forest Hills NTA boundary (22.7%) have R4B as their main district.

What FAR does R4B allow?

R4B allows a standard residential FAR of 1.00 and 1.50 for qualifying residential sites (ZR 23-21).

How tall can a building be in R4B?

For standard residences: max 25 ft (ZR 23-422).

What housing can I build on an R4B lot?

Unless the lot is a qualifying residential site, R4B allows only single- or two-family residences (detached, semi-detached, attached or zero lot line) (ZR 22-122). On qualifying residential sites any type of residence is permitted (ZR 22-122).

Related pages

Sources

Lot counts are our own tabulation of PLUTO 26v2 inside the 2020 NTA boundary, pulled October 27, 2026. PLUTO is updated a few times a year, so counts will drift.