A permit filing is one of the earliest public signals that an owner is putting capital to work. Tracking DOB permits shows you who is building, renovating or repositioning — often before anyone else notices.
The NYC Department of Buildings publishes permit filings for new buildings and alterations. Each filing names the property by BBL, the work type, and the owner's representative. Crezly maps these to the owner so a permit becomes a signal about a person, not just a parcel.
Permits lead the market. An owner filing for a major alteration is committing capital and intent — they may be repositioning to sell, or building to hold. Either way, a fresh filing tells you the owner is active and reachable. Watching permit activity across a submarket also reveals where the next wave of supply is coming from.
Read permits alongside recent deeds: an owner who just bought and immediately filed permits is repositioning, a classic precursor to a future sale.
A permit's listed representative is a starting point, but the decision-maker is the owner. Use the building's BBL to pull the owner record and wider portfolio, then skip trace to reach them directly.
Where does permit data come from?
The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), published through NYC Open Data and refreshed daily.
What's the difference between a new-building and an alteration permit?
A new-building (NB) permit authorizes construction of a new structure; an alteration (Alt) permit covers changes to an existing building, from minor work to full repositioning.
How current is the permit feed?
Permit and violation feeds refresh daily from NYC Open Data.