Net Change in Housing Units, 2010-2020
Introduction
This StoryMap analyzes housing units added and lost through new construction, alteration, and demolition from 2010 to 2020, offering insight into how each of these changes are affecting New York City's housing supply. While new construction accounts for most housing growth in the city, the redevelopment and repurposing of existing buildings also play important roles in how much housing we have. Alterations may increase unit counts through conversion of nonresidential buildings, subdivision of existing homes, or enlargement of buildings; they may also decrease units through the combination of units, such as the combination of adjacent units in a co-op building or the conversion of a two-family house to a single-family. Housing units can also be lost to building demolitions. These losses decrease the net number of housing units, or the number of housing units added minus the number of housing units lost.
New York City saw a net increase of 206,000 housing units from 2010 to 2020. New buildings added the vast majority of units (203,000) while gains from alterations created an additional 29,000. This growth was offset slightly by alterations that combine units or convert to a non-residential use (-9,000) and building demolitions (-17,000).
Analysis
Generally, the highest concentrations of housing growth were in transit-accessible neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and portions of Manhattan. There has generally been little housing growth or loss in lower-density neighborhoods.
Tips: Access the legend in the lower left-hand corner. Use the search bar to find a particular address's census tract. Click on the census tract to see the net housing units produced from 2010 to 2020.
Clusters with the most growth were in formerly non-residential neighborhoods rezoned within the last 20 years to allow residential construction, such as Greenpoint-Williamsburg (BK 1); Hudson Yards and West Chelsea (MN 4); Downtown Brooklyn (BK 2); and Long Island City (QN 2).
These community districts are outlined on the map. Census tracts that have experienced the highest net housing growth are shown in dark blue.
In some affluent neighborhoods closest to job centers—particularly the Upper East Side (MN 8), the Upper West Side (MN 7), and Greenwich Village/ SoHo / NoHo (MN 2)—unit losses significantly offset additions, creating clusters of housing loss.
These community districts are outlined on the map. Census tracts that have experienced a net housing loss are shown in gold.
The community districts that are home to high-growth clusters, including Greenpoint-Williamsburg (BK 1); Hudson Yards and West Chelsea (MN 4); Downtown Brooklyn (BK 2); and Long Island City (QN 2), were responsible for nearly a third of New York City's total housing additions.
In some instances, the net change in housing may seem counterintuitive. For instance, on net, the Upper East Side (MN 8) added less new housing over the past decade than 57 of New York City's other 58 community districts. Although MN 8 added 2,468 housing units in new buildings, this was offset by the loss of 1,589 units, more total losses than any other community district. In fact, excluding Roosevelt Island, which added 960 units, the remainder of the district recorded a net loss of units during the decade. See Where is housing being added in New York City? for more data on net housing change.
Tip: Hover over the chart to see category totals for each community district.
Of the five boroughs, Brooklyn produced the most housing units in terms of new buildings (78,810 units), units gained through alteration (12,883 units), and net units (84,088 units).
Manhattan's housing gains were significantly offset by losses. The borough lost 4,956 units to alteration, more than all other boroughs combined, largely attributable to the combination of units in affluent neighborhoods.
Tip: Hover over the chart to see category totals for each borough.
Although alterations resulted in losses in some neighborhoods, other areas added a significant number of housing units through alterations. Dense, growing, mixed-use areas saw the conversion of office buildings, hotels, and former industrial buildings to apartments. Lower Manhattan (MN 1) and Greenpoint-Williamsburg (BK 1) added 3,738 units and 3,269 units through alterations respectively, more than any other community district. See Where is housing being added in New York City? for more data on units gained and lost from alterations.
About this Report
All data in this StoryMap are publicly available in the DCP Housing Database . Data are derived from the Department of Buildings (DOB) Open Data, and full documentation is available on GitHub. Completion date is defined by the first Certificate of Occupancy issued (temporary or final), including for partially completed buildings, completed between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2020. Housing data from different database versions are not consistent as corrections to historic records occur routinely.
Analysis of this data through 6/30/2020 is also available in an Info Brief .
Additional Resources
This data can also be viewed by community district, council district, and neighborhood tabulation area (NTA) in Where is housing being added in New York City? Additional analyses are also available .