New data from New York City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) says property owners and building representatives obtained more than 2,000 demolition permits throughout the five boroughs last year, a report by Fast Company says. The amount is the highest number since the financial crisis in 2008.
The data has shown that the number of demolition permits issued in the city has risen ever year this decade with the 2,030 permits in 2017 more than doubling those in 2010, the report says. Last year, the largest year-over-year increases of permits were in Staten Island and the Bronx, where the city issued 334 and 174 permits, respectively. The report says Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens saw slight declines between 2016 and 2017.
Brooklyn, the report says, saw the highest numbers in 2016 and 2017 with 732 permits in 2016 and 690 in 2017. The record for demolition permits issued in a single year was 2006, when 3,653 were issued, a spokesman from the DOB says in the report.
Most often, the report says, the buildings that have been razed in the city either have historical significance or look as though they do. Last year, a historic music store called Manny’s Music, which was visited by the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, was approved for demolition after being vacant for several years.