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Building Permit Search
With gratitude to and respect for all those who are interested in the history of New York City, we have digitized abstracts of the new building (NB) applications filed in Manhattan for each year, from 1900 to 1986, and turned it into a searchable database. If you are seeking information for a specific NB before 1900, please contact us at Research@MetroHistory.com.
Search Tips:
If you want to determine the date and architect of your building, and you live, for instance, on West 86th Street in a building you think was built around 1930, search for "86th" in the address field and work backward from 1933 or so. Bear in mind that the present 130 West 86th may have been filed as 124-132 West 86th, or even simply 128 West 86th.
Some permits are not rendered in address form, but in "metes and bounds"—that is, "86th st, n s, 175 e Amsterdam" indicates the building lot on the north side of West 86th Street beginning 175 feet east of the corner of Amsterdam Avenue. To interpret this, we recommend the NYPL digital map collections and the Department of Finance digital tax maps.
Another route to finding the NB application number for a particular building is to go to the New York City Department of Buildings website, which lists, in many cases, the particular NB number for a specific address. Type in the address, and look under "Actions." In most cases, you will find an NB associated with your building. (For instance, NB 336-11 is the 336th new building application filed in 1911.) NBs were first issued in 1866. If yours is 1900 or later, you should be able to get the details of that application here.
Caveats:
Not all building permits are carried out, and some are changed in scope after filing.
The year given in this database is the filing date for the building. The year of completion is often later.
Many buildings are alterations of older structures. Alterations are a completely different set of applications.
Some applications are filed against one cross street and not another. You may have to search both.
There are many flaws, omissions, and typos in this list, most from the original source.
These NBs cover only 1900-1986, but NBs were also issued from 1866-1899. The Department of Buildings website usually uses the form "NB 24-79", but that could be 1879 or 1979.
Updates:
2022: We are in the process of including information on street name and address numbering changes, notably the southward extension and renumbering of Sixth Avenue, and street renaming and renumbering in Manhattanville. The “Address” field below includes information from our research about such changes. The “Original Address in Source” field shows the address as given in the historic source.
2023: With thanks to our colleagues at Landmark West!, we have added some 19th-century permit information for the Upper West Side (i.e., West 59th Street to West 110th Street, Fifth Avenue to Hudson River). Note that the year 1892 has two separate series of NB numbers, the first beginning in January, as is typical, and the second beginning in June. If you are seeking similar information for a Manhattan building outside of the Upper West Side, please contact us at Research@MetroHistory.com.
Software Development: Andrew O’Reilly