Subdivision & Lot Line in New York, NY

Changing the Parcel, Not Describing It

Three variations come up: splitting one tax lot into two, merging two into one, and adjusting the line between adjoining lots. All three change the parcel itself, which is why the consequences run well beyond the drawing.

The Lot Is the Unit Everything Is Measured Against

Zoning district, permitted floor area, yard requirements and allowable use are all assessed against the lot. Merging two lots can release buildable floor area that neither parcel could use alone; splitting one can leave a remainder that no longer complies with its own district. Zoning lot mergers and the transfer of unused development rights between adjacent parcels are separate instruments again, and they rest on the same survey work underneath. Nobody should commission the drawing before somebody has answered whether the intended result is achievable.

What We Do and What We Do Not

We establish the existing parcels from the record, draw the proposed lines, and write the metes and bounds descriptions the filing requires. We do not do the zoning analysis and we do not make the filing - that is work for a zoning attorney or an expediter, and we would rather say so plainly than let you assume otherwise. We coordinate with whoever is handling it.

Where It Happens

Merger work is a Manhattan and downtown New Rochelle phenomenon, driven by development rights on assembled sites. Splits are far more common where lots are large enough to divide - Staten Island above all, parts of eastern Queens, and the larger parcels of Yonkers. Line adjustments turn up everywhere, including dense Brooklyn and Mount Vernon, usually to regularise something a survey has just revealed. The boundary survey underneath has to be settled first, an ALTA/NSPS survey is normally required if the reconfigured parcel is being financed, and where the site is then built on the construction stakeout works from these new lines.

How long does it take? Driven by the filing rather than the field work. The survey is normally ready well before the approval process concludes.

Frequently Asked Questions