What is the difference between ZOLA and ACRIS?

ZOLA is for zoning data — what a property is allowed to be (zoning district, FAR, special districts). ACRIS is for transactions — what has been recorded against the property (deeds, mortgages, sale prices). Brokers need both, for different parts of any deal.

How to Look Up Zoning in NYC: A Broker's Practical Guide

The question "what's the zoning at this address?" has five different right answers depending on why you're asking.

If you're verifying a fact for a binding document, the answer is ZOLA. If you're triaging twenty potential acquisitions, the answer is a different tool. If you're standing on the sidewalk looking at a building, the answer is different again. If you need recent permit activity, you're looking somewhere else entirely.

Most brokers default to whatever tool they used first. That works, but leaves time on the table. This guide covers when each tool fits, with specific use cases.

The Five Tools Every NYC Broker Should Know

NYC has the richest public data of any US real estate market. The downside: it's spread across multiple government and third-party tools, each strong for different things.

1. ZOLA — The Authoritative Source

Best for: Verification, formal documents, special districts, edge cases

URL: zola.planning.nyc.gov

ZOLA (Zoning and Land Use Application) is the city's official zoning map, maintained by the Department of City Planning. It's free, authoritative, and the source you screenshot when zoning facts are going into something that matters.

Use ZOLA when:

You're confirming zoning for an offering memo, lender package, or legal letter
You need to look up special purpose districts, scenic landmarks, or waterfront overlays
You want the canonical zoning resolution citation
You need to verify a contested zoning detail

Skip ZOLA when:

You're doing volume research (multiple properties at once)
You're on mobile in the field
You need data tied to deal flow

2. ACRIS — The Transaction Source

Best for: Recent sales, ownership history, deed details, mortgage records

URL: a836-acris.nyc.gov

ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System) is where every NYC property transaction is recorded. Deed transfers, mortgages, releases, assignments — they're all here. Updated daily.

Use ACRIS when:

You need to verify a recent sale price
You want full ownership history of a property
You're researching a 1031 exchange candidate (recent commercial sale)
You need the actual recorded deed document

Skip ACRIS when:

You need zoning data (ACRIS doesn't have it)
You want a clean cross-property comparison
You need data older than 1966 (limited pre-digitization records)

3. NYC OASIS — The Layered Overlay

Best for: Environmental, transportation, planning context

URL: oasisnyc.net

OASIS combines dozens of data layers — flood zones, sanitary sewers, school districts, transit access, parks, historic districts — into one map. It's a government collaboration project that doesn't get enough attention from brokers.

Use OASIS when:

You need to check flood zone status before a deal
You want to see school district boundaries
You're looking at transportation access for a tenant decision
You need scenic landmark or historic preservation context

Skip OASIS when:

You need zoning details (it has them, but ZOLA is better)
You're doing simple parcel lookups (overkill for that use case)

4. PropertyShark / Reonomy / CoStar — The Premium Tier

Best for: Deep ownership profiles, comp data, tenant history (paid)

These are paid platforms with comprehensive NYC commercial data. PropertyShark is the most accessible at ~$99/month. Reonomy and CoStar are institutional tools at $400-1,000+/month.

Use these when:

You can justify the cost based on deal volume
You need detailed ownership entity unwrapping (LLCs back to actual humans)
You need historical tenant data on commercial properties
You're at a larger firm with the budget

Skip these when:

You're an individual broker or small team operating on tight margins
The free tools cover your daily research needs (they often do)

5. Station CRM's NYC Zoning Map — The Broker Workflow Tool

Best for: Integrated zoning + deal context, mobile lookups, multi-property research

URL: getstationcrm.com/tools/zoning-map

Station CRM's zoning map combines MAPPLUTO base data with broker-specific overlays. The free tier covers the same data ZOLA and ACRIS provide, with a faster mobile UX.

Use Station's zoning map when:

You're doing in-the-field mobile research
You want to cross-reference zoning with recent retail closings (Station subscribers)
You're triaging 1031 exchange candidates (Station subscribers)
You need DOB permit activity overlay (Station subscribers)
You want the data integrated with your broker pipeline

Skip Station's tool when:

You need the official city attribution for a binding document (use ZOLA for that screenshot)
You're doing one-off research and don't need workflow integration

How to Run Each Tool — Step by Step

How to look up zoning on ZOLA

Go to zola.planning.nyc.gov
Type the address in the search bar at the top
Select the matching result from the dropdown
ZOLA centers the map on the parcel and opens a sidebar with zoning details
Click the zoning district (e.g., "C2-5") to see the full zoning resolution citation
Toggle layers (Special Purpose Districts, Inclusionary Housing, etc.) from the right panel

Time per lookup: ~30-45 seconds on desktop, longer on mobile

How to look up a recent sale on ACRIS

Go to a836-acris.nyc.gov
Click "Find Addresses and Parcels" → enter borough and address
Select the property from the result list (verify Block & Lot number)
Click "Get Documents" tab
Filter by document type "Deed" and date range
Click any deed record to see grantor, grantee, sale price, and recorded date

Time per lookup: ~2 minutes if you know the BBL, longer if not

How to check zoning on Station's NYC zoning map

Go to getstationcrm.com/tools/zoning-map
Search address in the search bar OR tap any parcel on the map
Side panel shows: zoning district, FAR, land use class, owner, assessment, sales history
(Subscribers only) Toggle overlays for: retail closings, 1031 candidates, recent sales, permits
Click "Open in ACRIS" or "Open in ZOLA" for cross-reference

Time per lookup: ~10-15 seconds on mobile

Common Multi-Tool Workflows

In practice, brokers use these tools in combination. Here are the workflows that work:

Acquisition triage workflow

Station zoning map — pull up the property, check zoning + recent sales + closings on the block
ACRIS — verify the most recent sale and ownership entity
ZOLA — confirm zoning for the formal write-up

1031 prospecting workflow

Station's 1031 candidates list — identify sellers under 45-day deadline
Station zoning map — check what their replacement property options look like
ACRIS — verify their sale and timing
Outreach with informed context

Tenant rep space search

Station zoning map — filter for parcels with retail-allowed zoning (C1, C2, C4, C6)
Cross-reference Station's closings overlay — recently vacated retail
ACRIS — verify owner and recent activity
ZOLA — confirm permitted retail uses for serious candidates

Quick mobile field check

Standing in front of a property
Open Station zoning map on mobile
Tap the parcel
Get zoning, owner, last sale in 10 seconds
Save or note for follow-up

The Mistakes Most Brokers Make

A few patterns that waste time:

Defaulting to ZOLA for everything. It's authoritative but slow. Use it for verification, not exploration.

Cross-checking ZOLA and ACRIS manually. Modern tools combine both. If you're flipping between tabs to reconcile zoning and sales, you're doing the work a tool should do.

Paying $99-1,000/month for tools you barely use. Premium platforms are powerful but most NYC brokers extract less than 20% of their value. Test the free tools first.

Ignoring OASIS. It has overlays no other tool has. At minimum, learn it for flood zones and historic districts.

Working in tab chaos. Six browser tabs open, copy-pasting between them, losing context. The whole point of broker-workflow tools is to eliminate this.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I look up zoning by address in NYC?

The fastest way is ZOLA (zola.planning.nyc.gov) for authoritative zoning, or Station CRM's NYC zoning map for the same data with broker-specific overlays. Both let you search an address and return zoning district, FAR, and special districts in seconds.

Is there a free NYC zoning lookup tool?

Yes. ZOLA is the city's official free tool. Station CRM's zoning map has a free tier covering the same MAPPLUTO data. ACRIS, NYC OpenData, and OASIS are all free for related property data (sales, environmental, permits).

How do I find the owner of a NYC property?

Two options: ACRIS (a836-acris.nyc.gov) for the recorded owner of record, or any parcel-data tool (Station, PropertyShark, LandGlide) that pulls from the same source. ACRIS is authoritative; the other tools are faster but may lag.

What is MAPPLUTO?

MAPPLUTO is the geographic version of NYC's PLUTO dataset (Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output). It contains parcel-level data for every tax lot in NYC: zoning, FAR, building characteristics, owner, assessment value, and sale history. It's free, government-maintained, and updates twice a year. Most NYC zoning tools pull from MAPPLUTO under the hood.

What's the difference between ZOLA and ACRIS?

ZOLA is for zoning data — what a property is allowed to be (zoning district, FAR, special districts). ACRIS is for transactions — what's been recorded against the property (deeds, mortgages, sale prices). Brokers need both, for different parts of any deal.

Do I need a paid tool to research NYC zoning?

For most brokers, no. The combination of ZOLA + ACRIS + Station CRM's free zoning map covers 80%+ of daily research needs. Paid tools (PropertyShark, Reonomy, CoStar) add depth for entity unwrapping and historical tenant data, but most individual brokers can defer that spend.