New Units Planned for Construction in 2015 Were Concentrated in Brooklyn and Manhattan

In 2015, New York City saw a spike in the number of permits issued for new housing units, including a large jump in the number of permitted units in large buildings with at least 50 units. Many of these new building permits were concentrated in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

New York City experienced a spike in the number of new residential units authorized for construction in 2015. Over 39,000 of more than 51,000 newly permitted housing units were slated to be in buildings with 50 or more units, more than in any year since at least 2004. The 421-a property tax exemption program was slated to expire on June 15, 2015, and uncertainty surrounding the fate of that tax exemption (which ultimately was extended through January 15, 2016) likely pushed developers to rush to apply for permits under the old regime. 

New buildings authorized in 2015 were largely concentrated in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. The size of buildings authorized by new permits varied across the city’s boroughs. One-to-four-unit buildings were concentrated in Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. Permits for buildings with 100 or more units were granted in all boroughs except for Staten Island.