Friday, April 25, 2008

Building boom over

The number of residential permits issued in the city in the first quarter dropped by 46% compared with the year ago period, a sign the city’s building boom is coming to an end.

The total number of permits declined to 558 from 1,038, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. All five boroughs saw significant drops, with the steepest one in the Bronx, where permits in the first three months of the year fell by 64%, to 79.

The decline follows a year in which more permits were issued citywide than in any year since 1972. Permits in Brooklyn and Queens, which reached record heights in 2007, dropped by 52% and 40% respectively in the first quarter of 2008.

When looking at permitted residential units, the number also fell 46%, to 3,893 from 7,264. The steepest drops were in Manhattan, which fell 69%, to 485 units, and Queens, which fell 62%, to 705 units. Staten Island had a 25% gain, to 238 units.


Permit plunge: End of the building boom?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Naw, with the tweeding loving politicans putting a big neon sign over the boro you have an infinite demand of desperate people ready to raise a family on 300 sq ft of space and work for a few dollars an hour.

All those 'luxory' housing will now be converted into warehouses.

Human warehouses.

Anonymous said...

Or maybe Land Use ran out of land to give to campaign doners. Oh, I forgot, the law limiting amounts is in effect.