DOB permits plunge in early 2009

The New York City Department of Buildings issued building permits for only 576 residential units in 133 buildings in January and February of this year. That number is an 80 percent drop from the number of permits issued in 2008  and an 87 percent drop from the number issued in 2007, according to data released today by the New York Building Congress. The steepest declines in permits in 2009 have been seen in Manhattan and Brooklyn. TRD