Losing exposure to adjacent building?

All depends on property lines and air rights, as far as I know. An article appeared, I believe, in the Daily News a while back about a homeowner who ended up having a brick wall about a foot outside her kitchen and livingroom windows because a new dev went up and did so legally. Be careful. Do your research.

Nothing about zoning for new construction is predicated on where the windows are in an existing building. If the older building has lot-line windows towards the front part of its side (probably popped in subsequent to the building's construction), they can simply be bricked up when the adjacent building goes to its lot line.

Some zoning has as its goal a continuous "streetwall" up to a certain height and a new building MUST be built to the side lotlines; in other areas of the City (for 1-2 family houses) substantial setbacks are required on all sides of new construction.

If the zoning allows your building to go right up to the lot line, then the new building next door can too, so you'd lose those lot-line windows.

E.g., the old-people's home at 720 WEA had to fill in 60-odd lot-line windows when the new condo at 732 went up.

Maybe the new building next door can't go higher than four stories, and there're no air rights for its owner to buy to go higher, but check it out like Sonya said.

Even if air rights or current zoning prevent them from building up and having your windows obstructed for now, you can never be sure. Only windows facing the street and the ones protected by your property are really "safe" over the long term.
Where is the property located ? If the building next door is unusually small and its lots has a decent shape (easy to built), chances are it will get higher in the long term. Fyi, as alanhart wrote, the worst case scenario is not a wall that would be close to your window and take away exposure, worst case scenario is to have the windows sealed...

I have just such a window off my bedroom. One bedroom faces the street and will never be blocked, but the other could be at any time if the LL next door wanted it to be.

Are there resources that anyone would suggest for researching the air right and zoning of the lot next door? I'm just going by the agent's words right now...

Start with looking at the context from the street or with Google Maps. If your building is the only one 9+ stories, with the rest of the block four stories, then the block's zoning and/or landmark status changed since your building went up, and you're pretty safe.

Then follow the money. Look up the next-door lot on ACRIS and see whether it bought or sold air rights. Your building could've bought them, to get to 9+ stories, or they could've been added to a lot on the other side of the block, or your neighbor could've bought its neighbor's, and so on.

Then just dig around at nyc.gov, following the zoning, etc. links.

Also, beware, certain "community facilites" (shcools, hospitals etc) can override the usual residential rules.

btw the 9th floor unit is located in a 20 floor building, so chances that the adjacent lot will be above 9th floor is high then....

My area has no height limits and buildings nearby are at least 10 stories taller. So...good luck.

jason10006
about 1 hour ago
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Member since: Jan 2009
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>My area

10006?

Key words that should send off alarm bells - "...I'm just going by the agent's words right now..."

A good real estate attorney should review this and be able to provide you with the information you require. That is one of the things you pay them for...