NYC Construction Dashboard

Job Type: Top 10 Community Districts (2021)

The greatest number of New Building permits were issued in CD503 in Staten Island, while the most Demolition permits were issued in CD407 in Queens. CD301 in Brooklyn had the most A1 permits. The borough of Manhattan had the greatest number of A2 and A3 permits issued overall.

Permits Time Series (2000 - 2021)

The greatest year-to-year increase in total number of permits issued occurred from 2003 to 2004 where New Building permits increased by 20% and Demolitions increased by 27%. This upward surge continued through 2005, but was followed by a six year period of decline. However, since 2013, New Building and Demolition permits have again steadily increased. Since 2018 New Building permits have been on the decline while Demolition permits increased by 1% in 2019 from the previous year. In 2021 New Building permits increased by 11% and Demolition permits increased by 10% from 2020. This chart shows all permits issued by the Department, that remained valid at the end of the quarter – Status: Permit Issued or Permit Entire.

Active NB & A1 (2000 - 2021) Square Feet | Proposed Dwelling Units

In 2009 there was a 12% reduction in New Building square footage from the previous year. The 2008 economic crisis can be attributed toward this decline in New Building construction. In 2015 there was a 44% increase in New Building square footage from the previous year. This spike can be attributed to the 2015 expiration of a tax benefit (421-a) for new construction. The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 saw overall decreases in NB/A1 square footage and proposed dwelling units. There was an increase of 3% of New Building square footage and less than 1% increase in Alt1 square footage in 2021 from the previous year. There was a 3% increase in New Building proposed dwelling units and an 18% increase in Alt1 proposed dwelling units from the previous year.

Permit Types by Community District (2021)

2021 Construction Permit Activity

While there was a decline in construction activity in 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the overall trends remain similar to past years. The majority of New Building (NB) and Demolition (DM) permits were issued in Brooklyn and Queens. However, smaller job types such as Alteration Types 2 (ALT2) and 3 (ALT3) were more prevalent in Manhattan. The permitting data presented in this report are aggregated by both initial and renewed permits.

New Building (NB): Queens had the most NB permits issued in 2021 (2,326 total, 32% citywide). The Community District with the greatest number of NB permits issued in 2021 was CD503 in Staten Island (563 total, 8% citywide).

ALT1: Brooklyn had the greatest number of ALT1 permits issued in 2021 (2,940 total, 37% citywide). CD301 in Brooklyn had 343 ALT1 permits issued in 2021, 4% of the citywide total.

ALT2: Manhattan had the greatest number of ALT2 permits in 2021 (48,172 total, 42% citywide). The Community District with the most ALT2 permits in 2021 was CD105 in Manhattan (10,669 total, 10% citywide).

ALT3: Manhattan had the greatest number of ALT3 permits in 2021 (1,531 total, 44% citywide). The Community District with the greatest number of initial and renewal ALT3 permits in 2021 was CD105 in Manhattan (368 total, 11% citywide).

Demolition (DM): Brooklyn had the greatest number of DM permits in 2021 (536 total, 34% citywide). The Community District with the greatest number permits issued in 2021 was CD407 in Queens (95 total, 6% citywide).

Total Permits: Manhattan had the greatest total number of permits issued in 2021 (52,107 total, 37% citywide). The Community District with the greatest number of permits issued in 2021 was CD105 in Manhattan (11,375 total, 8% citywide).

Demolition Permits Density Time Series (2000 - 2021)

This map shows concentrations of demolition permits between 2000-2021 (press play or click and drag time slider to iterate over years). Darker shades of red indicate higher concentrations of demolition permits while darker shades of green indicate lower concentrations.

New Building Permits Density Time Series (2000 - 2021)

This map shows concentrations of new building permits between 2000-2021 (press play or click and drag time slider to iterate over years). Darker shades of red indicate higher concentrations of new building permits while darker shades of blue indicate lower concentrations.

NYC Employment: Construction of Buildings (2000 - 2021)

Employment in the industry of building construction has steadily increased in New York City between 2010 and 2019 with a 59% increase in 2019 since 2010. 2020 showed it's first decline in building construction employment since 2010 with a 14% decrease from the previous year. In 2021 building construction employment decreased by 2% from the previous year. Between 2018 and 2020 there was a decline in permit activity, however in 2021 there was a slight increase of 3%. There is a strong correlation between construction employment numbers and permitting activity.

Source: US Department of Labor

Top 20 Development Projects (2021)

This map shows the top 20 approved New Building and Alteration permits issued with the highest estimated cost in 2021. 270 Park Avenue in Manhattan had the greatest estimated cost of 369 million in 2021. Construction costs are self-reported by the applicant.

Job Type per Borough (2000 - 2021)

Since 2000, Queens and Brooklyn have seen the largest proportion of New Building, ALT1, and Demolition permits issued, whereas the most A2 and A3 permits have been issued in Manhattan. There are more A2 permits issued in Manhattan than the other four boroughs combined.

NB Total Square Footage & Dwelling Units (2020 - 2021)

This map shows initial new building permits issued in 2020 and 2021, with the larger/darker circles indicating higher total volume of square footage and dwelling units. Over the two-year period, Queens had the highest number of initial NB permits issued. Manhattan had 89% fewer NB permits issued than Queens. Brooklyn had both the greatest amount of square footage and the greatest amount of dwelling units over the two-year period.