Too Much Yard in My Backyard - by Ryan Puzycki
Less than 10 feet across at its widest point, 75 ½ Bedford Street in New York City’s West Village is considered the narrowest home in the city. Like the Hogwarts Express Platform 9 ¾ at London’s King Cross, the house manages to magically wedge 999 square feet of living space onto a sliver of land where it seems no house should fit at all. Yet, three floors and a basement occupy less than one half of its 720-square foot lot, with room for a rear courtyard. This enchanting if eensy spot has been home to the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and actors Cary Grant and John Barrymore. Last year it sold for $3.41 million—a bargain compared to the much larger neighboring townhouse at 75 Bedford St, which last sold for a cool $10.9 million.
Since 1961, New York City has imposed a minimum lot size requirement of 1,700 sq. ft. in this zoning district, leaving 75 ½ Bedford about 1,000 sq. ft. short, while its neighbor is just shy by 20 sq. ft. The most beloved, often historic neighborhoods in many cities were generally built before these lot sizes were standardized, meaning most of what we love we could not build today. But there are some parts of New York City where the minimum lot size is 9,500 sq. ft., forcing a suburban standard of development that prioritizes backyards over homes, meaning the city cannot build what it needs today.
