NYC construction permits: sidewalk sheds jump 30.7% as citywide approvals hold steady
The city approved 46,094 construction permits from July 14 to Oct. 12, up 1.7%. Sidewalk shed permits rose 30.7%, and renewals made up the gain.
New York’s Department of Buildings approved 46,094 construction permits in the 90 days from July 14 to Oct. 12, 2026, according to the city’s open data on approved permits. That is 786 more than the 45,308 approved from April 15 to July 14, a rise of 1.7%.
The citywide total barely changed, but the categories inside it moved more. Sidewalk shed permits climbed, suspended scaffold permits fell and renewals of existing permits rose. Here is what the numbers show and what they do not.
NYC construction permits this fall: the citywide count
An approved permit is permission to start work. It is not a finished building, a new apartment or proof that crews are on site today. Each row in the dataset records only that the city signed off.
Permit volume also swings with filing batches, so a 1.7% change over 90 days is close to flat. The more useful part of the data is which kinds of permits moved.
Sidewalk shed permits up, suspended scaffolds down
The city sorts permits by trade. General construction is still the largest group at 10,977 approvals, down 299, or 2.7%. Plumbing held almost level at 5,854, down 0.4%.
The biggest increase was in sidewalk sheds: 5,821 approvals, up 1,366, or 30.7%, from 4,455. Going the other way, suspended scaffold permits fell 22.4% to 1,183, a drop of 342.
- Sidewalk Shed: 5,821, up 30.7%
- Standpipe: 715, up 20.4%
- Supported Scaffold: 1,825, up 7.9%
- Earth Work: 972, up 7.3%
- Suspended Scaffold: 1,183, down 22.4%
Solar permits barely moved, at 1,178 this period against 1,171 in the spring period. Structural permits slipped 3.3% to 3,441, and sprinkler permits fell 2.6% to 2,245.
Renewals behind the citywide increase
The growth sits in renewals, not in new permits. Renewals without changes rose by 797 to 13,173, up 6.4%. Initial permits were essentially unchanged at 29,179, down 37, or 0.1%.
Renewals with changes edged up 1.1% to 3,417. A renewal covers work the city had already approved once. That means the increase reflects existing jobs returning for approval more than a wave of new starts.
Which boroughs got the most construction permits
Manhattan led with 17,255 approvals, followed by Brooklyn with 11,525, Queens with 9,238, the Bronx with 4,662 and Staten Island with 3,414.
Every borough shows a large increase, from 30.6% in Brooklyn to 53% on Staten Island. Those jumps need care. The citywide total rose only 1.7%, and the borough counts for the spring period add up to far fewer permits than the citywide spring total of 45,308. Because the two sets of numbers do not line up, the borough percentages should not be read as real growth of that size. The borough ranking for this period is the safer takeaway.
Neighborhoods with the most building permits
By neighborhood, using the city’s 2020 neighborhood tabulation areas, Midtown-Times Square led by a wide margin with 2,471 approvals, up 312.
- Midtown-Times Square: 2,471, up 14.5%
- Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill: 1,443, down 8%
- Midtown South-Flatiron-Union Square: 1,041, down 0.9%
- Chelsea-Hudson Yards: 919, up 2%
- Upper West Side (Central): 886, up 11.7%
Among the 20 busiest areas, the largest percentage gain was in Todt Hill-Emerson Hill-Lighthouse Hill-Manor Heights on Staten Island, where approvals rose 84% to 473 from 257. Williamsburg rose 16.7% to 518, and the West Village rose 15% to 728.
Greenwich Village moved the other way, down 17.9% to 532. Bedford-Stuyvesant (West) fell 10.9% to 482, and Upper West Side-Lincoln Square fell 8.9% to 530.
What the permit data means for your block
Sidewalk sheds are the permit type a pedestrian is most likely to notice, and they posted the largest increase of any trade in this period. General construction, the biggest category, eased slightly.
The Financial District-Battery Park City area, with 822 approvals and up 12%, and Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill-Gowanus-Red Hook, with 826 and up 7.4%, both sit in the top 10. To see how your own part of town fits in, start from our neighborhood guides.
One period of 90 days is a short window, and filing batches can push counts up or down. A neighborhood that rose this time can fall back next time without any real change in what is being built.
Sources
Every figure above comes from these official sources, checked on the day this was written.
Quick answers
How many construction permits did NYC approve this fall?
The Department of Buildings approved 46,094 permits from July 14 to Oct. 12, 2026, up 1.7% from 45,308 in the previous 90 days.
Which type of construction permit grew the most?
Sidewalk shed permits rose by 1,366, or 30.7%, to 5,821, the largest increase of any work type.
Does an approved permit mean construction has started?
No. An approved permit is permission to start work. It is not proof that work is underway, and it is not a finished building or a new home.
Which NYC neighborhood had the most construction permits?
Midtown-Times Square, with 2,471 approvals from July 14 to Oct. 12, up 14.5%.
