In Aftermath of 421-a Demise, Bronx Leads the Boroughs in First Half of 2016

The number of residential permits issued by the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) dropped by more than half in the 12 months after the demise of the 421-a program but remained roughly on par with the annual numbers experienced over the course of the past decade, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of U.S. Census data.

NYBC_charts-072816Through the first six months of 2016, the Bronx led all boroughs with 1,926 DOB-authorized units, followed by Brooklyn with 1,394 units, Queens with 1,222 units, Manhattan with 821 units, and Staten Island with 621 units. Both the Bronx and Staten Island saw an increase in the number of permitted units during the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2015, while Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens experienced considerable declines.

Overall, the Bronx has accounted for nearly 32 percent of all permitted units in 2016, after averaging just 11 percent of all authorized units between 2011 and 2015. If this pace were to hold through the rest of the year, the Bronx would take the top spot for the first time since 2009 and just the second time since at least 2000.

Brooklyn had led the City with the most units authorized for construction for the past four consecutive years. In 2015, the DOB permitted the construction of 26,026 units in Brooklyn, followed by 12,667 in Queens, 12,267 in Manhattan, 4,682 in the Bronx, and 541 in Staten Island.

“Brooklyn has been on an epic run over the last few years with Manhattan and Queens right behind it. But as of now, 2016 is shaping up to be the year that the development community finally rediscovered the Bronx,” noted New York Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email