Chapter 8 - Special Hudson Square District (HSQ)
GENERAL PURPOSES
The “Special Hudson Square District” established in this Resolution is designed to promote and protect public health, safety and general welfare. These general goals include, among others, the following specific purposes:
(a) to support the growth of a mixed residential, commercial and industrial neighborhood by permitting expansion and new development of residential, commercial and community facility uses while promoting the retention of commercial uses and light manufacturing uses;
(b) to recognize and enhance the vitality and character of the neighborhood for workers and residents;
(c) to encourage the development of buildings compatible with existing development;
(d) to regulate conversion of buildings while preserving continued manufacturing or commercial use;
(e) to encourage the development of affordable housing;
(f) to promote the opportunity for workers to live in the vicinity of their work;
(g) to retain jobs within New York City; and
(h) to promote the most desirable use of land in accordance with a well-considered plan and thus conserve the value of land and buildings, and thereby protect City tax revenues.
Definitions
General Provisions
In harmony with the general purposes and intent of this Resolution and the general purposes of the Special Hudson Square District, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply within the Special Hudson Square District. The regulations of all other Chapters of this Resolution are applicable, except as superseded, supplemented or modified by the provisions of this Chapter. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Chapter and other regulations of this Resolution, the provisions of this Chapter shall control. However, in flood zones, or for transit-adjacent sites or qualifying transit improvement sites, as defined in Section 66-11 (Definitions), in the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Chapter and the provisions of Article VI, Chapter 4 (Special Regulations Applying in Flood Hazard Areas), or Article VI, Chapter 6 (Special Regulations Applying Around Mass Transit Stations), the provisions of Article VI shall control.
District Plan and Maps
The regulations of this Chapter are designed to implement the Special Hudson Square District Plan. The District Plan includes the map, “Special Hudson Square District and Subdistrict,” in the Appendix to this Chapter which is hereby incorporated and made part of this Resolution for the purpose of specifying locations where the special regulations and requirements set forth in this Chapter apply.
Subdistricts
In order to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Chapter, Subdistrict A is established. The Subdistrict is specified on the map in the Appendix to this Chapter.
The conversion to dwelling units of non-residential buildings erected prior to December 31, 1990, or portions thereof, shall be permitted subject to the provisions applicable to Commercial Districts in Article I, Chapter 5 (Residential Conversion within Existing Buildings), except as superseded or modified by the provisions of this Chapter.
All permitted uses in the underlying districts, as set forth in Section 42-10 (USE ALLOWANCES), inclusive, shall comply with the provisions set forth in this Section, inclusive.
Residential Use
Residential use shall be permitted in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
(a) Residential use as-of-right
Residential use shall be permitted as-of-right on any zoning lot that, on March 20, 2013, was not occupied by a qualifying building. As a condition to receiving a building permit, such absence of a qualifying building on the zoning lot must be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Department of Buildings.
(b) Residential use by certification
Residential use shall be permitted on a zoning lot that, on March 20, 2013, was occupied by one or more qualifying buildings, only upon certification by the Chairperson of the City Planning Commission that the zoning lot, as it existed on March 20, 2013, will contain at least the amount of commercial or manufacturing floor area that existed within such qualifying buildings on the zoning lot on March 20, 2013, subject to the following:
(1) commercial or manufacturing floor area that is preserved within existing non-qualifying buildings on the zoning lot through restrictive declaration may count towards meeting the requirements of this certification; and
(2) floor area from community facility uses with sleeping accommodations shall not count towards meeting the requirements of this certification.
However, commercial or manufacturing floor area converted to residential vertical circulation space and lobby space need not be replaced as commercial or manufacturing floor area.
A restrictive declaration acceptable to the Department of City Planning shall be executed and recorded, binding the owners, successors and assigns to maintain the amount of commercial or manufacturing floor area that existed within such qualifying buildings on March 20, 2013, on the zoning lot. Such restrictive declaration shall be recorded in the Office of the City Register. A copy of such declaration shall be provided to the Department of Buildings upon application for any building permit related to a change of use from commercial or manufacturing to residential, or for any development containing residences.
Community Facility Use
The community facility use regulations for Use Group III that are applicable in M1 Districts shall not apply in the Special Hudson Square District. In lieu thereof, all uses listed under Use Group III shall be permitted, except that those listed under Use Group III(A) shall only be permitted in accordance with paragraphs (a) or (b) of this Section, as applicable.
- Community facilities with sleeping accommodations shall be permitted as-of-right on any zoning lot that, on March 20, 2013, was not occupied by a qualifying building. As a condition to receiving a building permit, such absence of a qualifying building on the zoning lot shall be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Department of Buildings.
- Community facilities with sleeping accommodations shall be permitted on a zoning lot that, on March 20, 2013, was occupied by one or more qualifying buildings, only upon certification by the Chairperson of the City Planning Commission that the zoning lot will contain at least the amount of commercial or manufacturing floor area that existed within qualifying buildings on the zoning lot on March 20, 2013, subject to the following:
- commercial or manufacturing floor area that is preserved within existing non-qualifying buildings on the zoning lot through restrictive declaration may count towards meeting the requirements of this certification; and
- floor area from community facility uses with sleeping accommodations shall not count towards meeting the requirements of this certification.
However, commercial or manufacturing floor area converted to vertical circulation and lobby space associated with a community facility with sleeping accommodations need not be replaced as commercial or manufacturing floor area.
A restrictive declaration acceptable to the Department of City Planning shall be executed and recorded, binding the owners, successors and assigns to maintain the amount of commercial or manufacturing floor area that existed within such qualifying buildings on March 20, 2013, on the zoning lot. Such restrictive declaration shall be recorded in the Office of the City Register. A copy of such declaration shall be provided to the Department of Buildings upon application for any building permit related to a change of use from commercial or manufacturing to community facility uses with sleeping accommodations, or for any development containing community facility uses with sleeping accommodations.
Commercial Use
The commercial use regulations applicable in M1 Districts shall apply in the Special Hudson Square District, except that:
- uses listed under Food and Beverage Retailers in Use Group VI shall not be limited as to the size of the establishment;
- other uses listed under Use Group VI, as well as uses listed under Use Group VIII shall be limited to a size of 10,000 square feet on the ground floor level of floor area per establishment;
- commercial uses permitted in M1 Districts shall be subject to the modifications set forth in Section 123-22 (Additional Conditions for Certain Uses), inclusive;
- transient hotels listed under Use Group V shall be subject to the provisions of Section 32-153 (Use Group V – uses subject to additional conditions) applicable to a C7 District; and
- eating or drinking establishments listed under Use Group VI, where such establishment provides entertainment with a cover charge or specified showtime, or includes a dance floor, shall be limited to a capacity of 200 persons or fewer. A capacity of more than 200 persons may be permitted by the Board of Standards and Appeals pursuant to Section 73-162 (Eating or drinking establishments).
Streetscape provisions
For the purposes of applying the underlying provisions set forth in Section 32-30 (STREETSCAPE REGULATIONS), inclusive, to the Special Hudson Square District, the streetscape regulations for C7 Districts shall apply to all M1 Districts.
The underlying ground floor level streetscape provisions set forth in Section 32-30, inclusive, shall apply, except that ground floor level street frontages along wide streets shall be considered Tier C street frontages.
Manufacturing Use
In the Special Hudson Square District, manufacturing uses permitted in M1 Districts shall be subject to the modifications set forth in Section 123-22 (Additional conditions for certain uses), inclusive.
SIGN REGULATIONS
In the Special Hudson Square District, signs are subject to the regulations applicable in C6-4 Districts, as set forth in Section 32-60, inclusive.
SPECIAL BULK REGULATIONS
Except as modified in this Chapter, the following bulk regulations shall apply:
(a) For developments, enlargements, or changes of use containing residences, the bulk regulations of a C6-4A District, as set forth in Article III, Chapter 4 (Bulk Regulations for Residential Buildings in Commercial Districts) or Article III, Chapter 5 (Bulk Regulations for Mixed Buildings in Commercial Districts), shall apply;
(b) For developments, enlargements, or changes of use containing manufacturing, commercial or community facility uses, the bulk regulations set forth in Article IV, Chapter 3 (Bulk Regulations), shall apply.
For the purposes of applying the regulations of this Section, Greenwich Street shall be a wide street.
Floor Area Regulations
In the Special Hudson Square District, the floor area regulations applicable to a C6-4A District shall apply.
Within Subdistrict A, any floor space designated for use as a school shall be exempted from the definition of floor area for the purposes of calculating the permitted floor area ratio for community facility uses and the total maximum floor area ratio of the zoning lot, provided that such school is either:
- a public school, subject to the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Education, pursuant to an agreement accepted by the School Construction Authority; or
- a charter school, subject to the New York State Education Law, pursuant to an agreement with a charter school organization.
Yard Regulations
In the Special Hudson Square District, the yard provisions applicable in C6 Districts shall apply to non-residential buildings, or the non-residential portion of a building.
Height and Setback
In the Special Hudson Square District, the height and setback regulations applicable to C6-4A Districts shall apply, except that for buildings, or portions thereof, located on wide streets, and on narrow streets within 100 feet from their intersection with a wide street, the maximum height of such buildings shall be 290 feet. In addition, for buildings that exceed a height of 230 feet, any story located within the highest 15 percent of such building shall not exceed 90 percent of the gross area of that story located directly below the highest 15 percent of the tower.
For zoning lots in Subdistrict A of this Chapter, the regulations in Section 88-33 applicable to wide streets shall apply, except where modified or superseded by the regulations of this Section.
(a) Maximum building height
The maximum height of buildings shall be 430 feet.
(b) Lot coverage
The minimum lot coverage of a tower above the maximum base height shall be 30 percent of the lot area of the zoning lot. However, any story located within the highest 15 percent of the tower may cover less than 30 percent of the lot area of a zoning lot provided that the gross area of any such story does not exceed 90 percent of the gross area of that story directly located below the highest 15 percent of the tower.
(c) Modification of bulk regulations for zoning lots bounding a public park
In the case of a zoning lot line abutting the boundary of a public park, such zoning lot line shall be considered to be a wide street line for the purposes of applying all bulk regulations of this Resolution, except for street wall regulations. For the purposes of applying street wall regulations in the case of a zoning lot line abutting the boundary of a public park, a line no more than 45 feet west of and parallel to the nearest boundary line of the public park shall be considered a wide street line.
(d) Street wall location
The street wall provisions of this Chapter shall apply, except that, for the portion of a building bounding a public park, the street wall shall be located at the street line for at least 50 percent of the frontage bounding the public park and shall rise to the minimum base height, but not higher than the maximum base height.
In the Special Hudson Square District, the parking regulations applicable in C6-4 Districts, as set forth in Article III, Chapter 6, and as modified, pursuant to Article I, Chapter 3 (Comprehensive Off-street Parking and Loading Regulations in the Manhattan Core) shall apply.
