August 6, 2015
By Stephanie West
New York, NY – New York City residential permits skyrocketed in 2015 with the Department of Buildings (DOB) authorizing construction of 52,618 residential units in Fiscal Year 2015 a 156 percent increase from FY 2014. This marks the sixth consecutive year of increases in permitted units. While the number of permits rose in each of the five boroughs, Brooklyn experienced the most dramatic increase with 23,326 dwelling units authorized for construction in FY 2015.
“The Building Congress has long believed that New York City needs to produce at least 20,000 new housing units each year to keep pace with demand and a growing population,” said New York Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson. “But we never thought we would see a year in which that many units would be authorized in one borough alone. The current strength of the Brooklyn market is quite remarkable.”
Manhattan, with 13,499 permitted units, was second to Brooklyn for the third consecutive fiscal year. Queens was home to 12,326 newly-authorized units, followed by the Bronx with 2,753, and Staten Island with 714.
“Residential construction spending was already at record levels, even prior to this recent surge, and barring an unforeseen economic downturn, we have every reason to believe the pace will continue and maybe even accelerate in the coming years,” said Mr. Anderson.
Affordable housing development also increased in 2015. Construction started on 8,483 units of affordable housing in FY 2015, an 80 percent increase from 4,708 reached in FY 2013.
“Mayor de Blasio has declared that he will create 80,000 new units of affordable housing over the next decade, and he’s off to a strong start,” added Mr. Anderson. “In order to sustain and build upon it, his administration, with the help of Albany, will need to find a way to entice developers to include an even greater percentage of affordable units in their market-driven development projects.”
