How this site is made
Where the data comes from
New York City publishes every job filed with the Department of Buildings. The filings live in two systems, DOB NOW and the older BIS, and both are on NYC Open Data. Each filing names the applicant of record, which is the licensed architect or engineer who signed it, and each permit names the contractor who pulled it. Those names are the record this site is built on.
When the record starts
Our copy of the New York City record begins in August 2024. A firm that was busy before then will show fewer jobs here than it has filed in its life, and "first filing" on a page means the first filing in our records, not the first the firm ever made. Yearly counts for 2024 are partial for that reason, and counts for the current year are partial because the year is not over.
What counts as a filing
A job is one project at one address. A job can have more than one filing, for example an initial filing and a later amendment. "Projects on file" counts jobs. "Filings, last 90 days" counts filings, because that is what shows whether a firm is busy right now.
Which firms are on the site
The site started in October 2026 with 50 New York City firms. Each one has at least 10 jobs on file, filed something in the last four months, and filed at least twice in the last 90 days. Firms are added in small groups, and a firm is only added once its page has a written note. Nobody can pay to be listed, and nobody can pay to be taken off.
How the notes are written
Every firm page has a short note from the editor. The notes are written by hand from the filings, not generated. Every number in a note has to match the facts box on the same page, and the site will not publish a page where they disagree. Notes say what a firm files, where, and for whom. They do not rate firms.
How the edition is built
Once a month the data is refreshed and the firms on the site are ranked by filings in the last 90 days. The edition page shows that table, the citywide filing count for context, and a short written summary of what moved.
Names and addresses
Firm names are shown as the city records them, with capitalization tidied. Where the city lists one firm under two spellings, the pages are combined by hand. Addresses are the job addresses on the filings.
Corrections
If something on a page is wrong, write to [email protected] or use the correction link on the page. Corrections are made within two business days and noted on the page. A firm that asks to have its page removed will have it removed.
Who they work with
Each firm page lists the other firms named on the same jobs: the architect or engineer who signed the filing, the contractor who pulled the permit, and the specialty trades. The count is the number of jobs they share in our records, and the date is the most recent one. Names are shown as the city records them. Firms with their own page here are linked.
Visits
The site uses Google Analytics to count visits. No account, no cookies beyond that, no advertising.
What this site is not
It is not a review site and it does not rate firms. It does not take advertising. It does not sell leads or data. It reads the public record and writes it up.