Not heavy restrictions. There are a few historic districts (read: well-off NIMBYs) such as Park Slope where height is strictly capped. In Manhattan the caps a

Not heavy restrictions. There are a few historic districts (read: well-off NIMBYs) such as Park Slope where height is strictly capped. In Manhattan the caps are generally designed to ensure that at least some light and air still reaches the street (before they were imposed, buildings were build to their full height to the edges of lots, and contributed to the city being very dark. Much of Manhattan is actually somewhat low-rise (3-5 stories). In those areas, developers can buy "air rights" from neighboring low-rise buildings if they want to build taller on a nearby lot.