How the scores work
What data NYRezone pulls from, exactly how Opportunity Score is calculated, what City of Yes actually changed, and where the data has real limits.
Data Sources
Every parcel on the map is built from public government data — no crowdsourced or estimated fields.
NYC — DCP MapPLUTO
All five boroughs, 858K+ parcels. Real tax-lot polygon geometry from NYC Department of City Planning (PLUTO 25v1). Includes zoning district, Residential FAR, Built FAR, lot area, land use, units, and year built — the only source with full FAR data.
Westchester & Suffolk — NYS Statewide Tax Parcels
257K+ Westchester and 586K+ Suffolk parcels via the NYS Statewide Tax Parcels ArcGIS service. Full polygon geometry, assessment values, owner name, and property class. No zoning district or FAR data — FAR is a NYC PLUTO-specific field with no statewide equivalent.
Nassau County — Legacy GIS
407K+ parcels, geometry only. Nassau isn't part of the NYS statewide parcel dataset, so there's no assessment value, owner name, address, or property class attached — just lot boundaries. Opportunity scores aren't computed for Nassau parcels.
ACRIS Deed Records
NYC Department of Finance deed and party records (Legals, Master, and Parties datasets). Used to surface the most recent recorded owner, sale date, and sale amount for a parcel on request.
Distress Signals (NYC)
For NYC parcels, NYRezone checks eight public signals correlated with motivated sellers. Each contributes to a 0–100 distress score:
HPD Building Violations
Open Class A, B, and C violations from NYC Housing Preservation & Development. Class C (immediately hazardous) weighs heaviest.
Lis Pendens / Foreclosure
ACRIS filings for lis pendens, foreclosure, deed-in-lieu, and notice of default — cross-referenced from the parcel's deed history.
DOF Tax Lien Sale List
Whether the parcel appears on NYC's Department of Finance tax lien sale list, meaning back taxes are owed.
Expiring Tax Abatement
Buildings constructed 2000–2015 with an active exemption balance — a likely 421-a abatement approaching its expiration and a coming tax increase.
Estate / Trust Ownership
Owner-type code or owner name pattern indicating estate, trust, heir, or probate ownership — often correlated with motivated sellers.
Aging Building Under LLC
Pre-1970 buildings held by an LLC entity, a common pattern ahead of a disposition or redevelopment.
Land Value vs. Building Value
Building area low relative to assessed value — a signal the land itself may be worth more than what's built on it.
Commercial Vacancy
Mixed-use zoned commercial lots carrying total units but zero residential units.
Opportunity Score
Opportunity Score measures what percentage of a parcel's allowed residential floor area hasn't been built yet. A score of 90 means the lot is using less than 10% of its allowable residential density.
It's calculated directly from NYC DCP MapPLUTO's Residential FAR and Built FAR fields — no modeling, no estimation. Parcels with no residential FAR allowance (commercial-only, industrial, parkland) score 0.
Formula
score = residFAR > 0
? clamp(
round((residFAR − builtFAR) / residFAR * 100),
0,
100
)
: 0residFAR — max residential floor area ratio allowed by zoning
builtFAR — floor area ratio of what's currently built
City of Yes for Housing Opportunity
Adopted December 2024, City of Yes is the largest zoning reform in NYC history — it unlocked an estimated 295 million square feet of new developable area citywide. NYRezone checks every NYC parcel against six of its provisions.
Universal Affordability Preference
+20% FAR bonus for developments providing 100% affordable housing.
Town Center Zoning
Ground-floor retail and apartments now allowed in low-density (R1–R5) residential zones.
Transit-Oriented Development
+15% FAR bonus for residential zones within transit-rich community districts.
Parking Elimination
Parking minimums eliminated near transit — existing parking lots become buildable footprint.
Accessory Dwelling Units
Garage and basement conversions to dwelling units permitted in low-density residential zones.
Office-to-Residential Conversion
Pre-1991 office buildings become eligible for conversion to residential use.
Limitations & Honest Caveats
Data update lag. Source datasets (PLUTO, NYS statewide parcels, ACRIS, HPD) refresh on their own government schedules, not in real time. A recent sale, permit, or violation may not be reflected immediately.
County data has no zoning or FAR. Outside NYC, Westchester and Suffolk parcels carry assessment and ownership data but no zoning district or FAR — that field is specific to NYC PLUTO and has no statewide equivalent. Opportunity Score is not computed for these parcels. Nassau County has geometry only — no assessment, owner, or property data at all.
Scores are screening heuristics, not underwriting. Opportunity Score and distress signals surface where to look — they don't replace zoning counsel, a title search, or a site-specific feasibility study before any acquisition or development decision.
Informational only. Nothing on NYRezone is investment, legal, or tax advice.