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This is what a $1,500–$10,000 zoning study produces, generated in 3 minutes. Every number below is the engine's output for this lot.
SAMPLEZoning report · Manhattan

159 Ludlow Street

BBL MN-411-19 · Generated April 21, 2026

4,252

buildable SF

8

stories (top)

5

units (top)

86

max height (ft)

11

scenarios

01Built form

Massing and elevation

The top scenario's massing, drawn from the engine's per-floor plates: an axonometric of the volume and a side elevation with story heights and use mix. Where the ground floor reads wider than the floors above, that is the computed setback envelope, not a stylization. The full report adds cross-sections at the critical heights and the sky-exposure plane.

Axonometric · floor plates from the engine, extruded to their story heights
C1234567886 ft
CellarResidential
UAP (City of Yes): Max Development6,360 GSF · 8 fl · 86 ft
Street view near 159 Ludlow Street

Site context

Manhattan / LES, irregular small lot

02Floor synthesis

Auto-generated floorplans

Diagrammatic floor layouts produced by the engine, derived directly from the computed envelope, core requirements, and program. These are massing-grade studies, not construction documents. Architect-grade floorplan synthesis (with per-room layouts, fixture symbols, and code-compliant cores) is in active development.

MechanicalStorageCore

Cellar · Floor 0

813 GSF · 2533' footprint

LobbyResidentialCore

Ground · Floor 1

813 GSF · 2533' footprint

ResidentialResidentialCore

Typical · Floor 2

813 GSF · 2533' footprint

03Zoning analysis

Envelope, FAR and program

The engine's interpretation of the lot's zoning rules, applied to produce the buildable envelope, height, and per-floor program.

Program breakdown · UAP (City of Yes): Max Development

6,360

GSF · FAR 5.00

Residential · 3,606 SF
Cellar · 813 SF
Other / circulation · 1,942 SF
Rear Setback Above 10 ftMax Development

Stacking diagram

8 floors · 86 ft · bar width = floor plate size

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
FAR achieved across scenarios
UAP (City of Yes): Max DevelopmentFAR 5.00 · 6,360 SF
Max Res + School Construction BonusFAR 4.79 · 6,128 SF
All Programs CombinedFAR 4.79 · 6,128 SF
Residential + Community FacilityFAR 3.93 · 5,289 SF
Commercial OverlayFAR 3.95 · 5,289 SF
Max CommercialFAR 3.90 · 5,063 SF
04Zoning reference

The envelope, rule by rule.

Every constraint the engine applied to C4-4A, with the Zoning Resolution section that imposed it. The full report carries the complete citation table and a rule browser that explains each number from its inputs.

Envelope · C4-4A

Residential FAR4.00
Commercial FAR4.00
Community facility FAR4.00
Max building height85 ft
Base height40 ft – 75 ft
Rear yard10 ft
Front yardNone required
Side yardsNone required
Max lot coverage80%
Lot1,063 SF · interior
StreetLudlow Street · narrow

Form: Quality Housing. Contextual district: Quality Housing is the only residential form.

Rule
ZR section
Maximum Floor Area Ratio: Residential Districts
Maximum Floor Area Ratio: Commercial Districts
Maximum Floor Area Ratio: Community Facilities
Maximum building height: Quality Housing
Maximum base height: Quality Housing
Front Yard Requirements
Rear Yard Requirements
Maximum Lot Coverage
+ 7 more citations in the full report, plus the rule browser
05Building Code

What the Code requires for this building.

Chapter 5 and its neighbours, applied to the UAP (City of Yes): Max Development scenario: construction type, egress, elevators, sprinklers, accessibility. This is the part an architect checks first.

Construction type
Type 1B
Use group
R-2
Exit stairs required
2
Elevators
1 passenger
Sprinklers
NFPA 13
Standpipe
Yes
Max travel distance
250 ft
Fire rating, floors
2 hr

1 passenger, 1 stretcher-capable

06Programs

City of Yes and the tax programs, checked.

Which bonus programs the lot qualifies for and what each one is worth here, and which tax incentives a project on it could claim. The report models the qualifying scenarios as buildings, not footnotes.

City of Yes provisions

ELIGIBLE
Universal Affordability Preference (UAP)
+1.01 FAR (1,074 SF) for affordable housing at avg ≤60% AMI
N/A
Parking Reform
Manhattan Core (no residential parking)
ELIGIBLE
Shared Housing (SRO)
Shared housing permitted in R7A (R6+ district)
ELIGIBLE
Landmark TDR
Landmark air rights transfer via Chair certification (20% cap, 1,000 ft radius)

Vesting: 2025-12-05

Tax and incentive programs

ELIGIBLE
J-51 · J-51 Affordable Housing Rehabilitation Program (2024)
Available for rehabilitations of residential buildings with 50%+ units affordable at avg 80% AMI.
ELIGIBLE
485-x · Photo D — Modest Rental (11-99 units)
35-year benefit · 100% years 1-30, phase out 31-35
NO
ICAP
Check CRA map in HPD website.
ELIGIBLE
Article XI HDFC: full tax exemption for 100% affordable
100% units must be affordable to households earning ≤165% AMI.
NO
Opportunity Zone
07Also in the report

Approvals, parking, air rights, and the engine's own audit.

Four more sections from this lot's report. Each runs several pages in the PDF.

Approvals and procedures

As-of-right

No ULURP, BSA or CPC action required for the modeled scenarios. (E) designation on the lot.

Full section: required procedures, ULURP scope, LPC and (E) designations

Parking

n/a

.

Full section: every configuration, cost and its hit to buildable area

Block air rights

63,396 SF

Unused development rights across 54 lots on block 00411; the block is 98.9% built out.

Full section: every lot on the block with its unused floor area

Engine validation

0 flags

0 high · 0 medium · 0 low. The report shows its own doubts rather than hiding them.

Full section: every check the engine ran against its own output

08All scenarios

Side-by-side comparison

Every viable build path: 11 scenarios computed for this lot.

ScenarioFARBuildable SFFloorsHeight (ft)Units
UAP (City of Yes): Max Development5.006,3608865
Max Res + School Construction Bonus4.796,1287855
All Programs Combined4.796,1287855
Commercial Overlay3.955,2896702
Residential + Community Facility3.935,2896702
Max Commercial3.905,063671n/a
Community Facility3.905,063670n/a
Shared Housing (SRO)3.744,94167014
Max Units3.745,0636706
Max Residential (Quality Housing)3.745,0636702
4+1 Penthouse (No Elevator)3.554,8755702
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