1916 Zoning Resolution

The zoning resolution reflected both borough and local interests, and was adopted primarily to stop massive buildings from preventing light and air from reaching the streets below.

[4] Architectural delineator Hugh Ferriss popularized these new regulations in 1922 through a series of massing studies, clearly depicting the possible forms and how to maximize building volumes.

"By the end of the 1920s the setback skyscraper, originally built in response to a New York zoning code, became a style that caught on from Chicago to Shanghai," observe Eric Peter Nash and Norman McGrath,[5] discussing the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, which rose in isolation in Brooklyn, where no such zoning dictated form.

These buildings changed the skyline of New York City with both the advent of simple glass box design and their treatment of adjacent open spaces.

[9] On December 5, 2024, the New York City Council voted to increase and allow the construction of a number of affordable housing units within the five boroughs.