How healthy is the city’s construction industry these days? It depends on what statistics you look at. If you were a glass-half-empty sort you might cite the fact that 2006 marked the first downturn in almost a decade in the number of permits for new buildings; the number of overall construction permits (including renovations) also fell. If you were more of an optimist, like, say, Dan Doctoroff, you might point out the fact that construction spending was up 5% in 2006. Optimists and pessimists would probably agree that we are already in the middle of a tectonic shift from residential development being the major driver of building activity to commercial and public projects taking the forefront. (Interesting factoid: More than half of annual construction spending comes from public money.) And what about the non-economic impact of the building boom? “Obviously a construction boom is good in many respects. Unfortunately there is an aspect of it that has really been undermining the very nature of neighborhood life in this city,” said City Council member Tony Avella. “We can no longer just have business as usual when in fact we are in a crisis mode. Not enough people are paying serious attention to overdevelopment and unsafe construction.”
Building Boom in NYC Hits Wall [NY Post]
City’s Building Boom Enters a New Phase [NY Sun]