THE WALKTHROUGH NYC @thewalkthroughnyc

WALK Nº 03  BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN

The Tower
and the
Rowhouses

A public math walk about the space Bushwick is legally allowed to build — and hasn't. Same zoning law, wildly different buildings. Come measure the gap in between.

SAT · AUGUST 29, 2026 Start time + meeting point announced this week.
RSVPs hear it first.
RSVP on Partiful →

Free · rain or shine · bring a tape measure if you have one

FIELD NOTE — 72 CEDAR STREET

The gap above 72 Cedar Street A two-story rowhouse drawn solid, with about five more floors drawn as dashed outlines stacked above it — space that is legal to build under R6 zoning but does not exist. R6 MAX · FAR 2.43 LEGAL, UNBUILT 2,837 SQ FT ≈ 5 FLOORS BUILT FAR 0.7 CEDAR ST · LOT 1,640 SQ FT · SOURCE: NYC PLUTO
One rowhouse, measured against its own zoning: built FAR 0.7 on a 1,640-square-foot lot, where R6 allows 2.43. The difference — 2,837 sq ft — is room for about five more floors at this footprint. Legal since 1961. Unbuilt.
FRI· AUGUST 14

Every lot has a number

filling its FAR large unused gap · click a dot for address, built vs. allowed FAR, Street View

Tap any lot in Bushwick and see what's built, what's allowed, and the gap between them.

Read the argument on Substack →

The neighborhood total

low high average unused FAR by Census block group · hover a block group for the number

What to expect

We meet on Cedar Street, where a 19-story tower stands next to a 2-story rowhouse — same zoning law. We pace off lots, count floors, and compute FAR by hand on the sidewalk.

No math background needed. If you can divide, you can zone.