Buildings in NYC

Getting Started

• New York City Buildings: Research Guide
  Provides sources for finding info about NYC buildings. Please note that this is a guide from the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University. For non-web resources, you’ll need to search BobCat to see if NYU owns a copy.

• NYC Department of Buildings
  Contains statistics, codes, and other reference materials for buildings in NYC.
• Jack Brause Real Estate Library
  Part of NYU, the library contains materials on all aspects of the real estate industry, from finance and investment, to development, management, and economics. Resources include industry forecasts, property ownership, zoning laws and maps, mortgage banking, retail leasing trends, real estate investment trusts, or even job hunting. Open to the public.
• Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (NYU Reference 1 NA31 .H32 2000 Non-circulating)
  Provides definitions of terms.

Building Codes

• NYC Construction Codes

Building Violations

• NYC Department of Buildings
  Provides general info about violations
• ECB Violation Reference Guides, I & II
  Provides explanations of Environmental Control Board violations.
• NYC Buildings Information System
  Find violations, property profiles, safety reports, inspections, equipment tracking (includes elevators), and more. **NOTE: You’ll need the building’s address in order to search.

Building Safety/Design Post 9/11

• National Institute of Standards and Technology and the WTC
  Contains reports and recommendations that were the result of a 3-year investigation of the WTC collapse.
• United States Fire Administration
  Part of FEMA, the USFA provides safety tips, as well as fire statistics.
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration: Safety and Health Topics
• NYC Fire Department Training Bibliography
  Contains links to useful sources about fire safety, emergency procedures, etc.
• FEMA

Information About a Contractor, Company, etc.

• Virtual Business Library: Company and Financial Information

Finding articles

• LexisNexis
  See LexisNexis posting for search tips.
• Factiva
• Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
• Wilson OmniFile Mega FullText
  Includes the database “Applied Science and Technology”; useful for an engineering perspective.

Ethnic Groups and Neighborhoods in New York

Getting Started: Reference Books

• Bobst Library has a number of books on New York City, New York City neighborhoods, and ethnic groups in New York City. Most books are in the 1st floor Reference area at the call number F 128.

Finding New York News

• LexisNexis –New York News Sources [NYU-Only]
  This pre-defined category searches the New York Post, Village Voice, New York Magazine, New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, and more. For more LexisNexis search tips see the LexisNexis post.
• Factiva [NYU-ONLY]
  Like LexisNexis, Factiva covers tons of news sources. There is overlap, but Factiva tends to be better on the trades. (Factiva also includes Time Out which is not included in LexisNexis.)
  • TIPS–Use the hlp command to tell it to find your keywords in the Headline Lead Paragraph Ex. hlp=nolita
  • Click on Custom to see all of the searchable field abbreviations.
  • Use the Region menu to limit your search to sources/articles identified with that region.
• EthnicNewsWatch[NYU-Only]
  Includes ethnic newspapers from NYC communities. Note some newspapers may be non-English. Sources include: El Diario, El Prensa, New York Jewish Weekly, India in New York, New Voice of New York, etc.
• Gotham Gazette
  Includes “New York City News and Policy” articles as well as links to tons of NYC resources.
  • Check out the Links Section (lower left side bar) for links to Org(anizations) and News Sites (local weeklies, non-English press, etc.)
  • Click on Manhattan in the Boros section to find out more about neighborhood resources. NYC Blogs are also listed.

Neighborhood Information

See also Community/Neighborhood Information

• Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit: Community Boards (available via the NYC.gov site)
  Use this to identify your community board. Lists contacts, as well as websites (when a board has a website).

• Department of City Planning (available via the NYC.gov site)
  Use the Reference area to identify your community district and get a statistical community district profile. Use Projects and Proposals to see what projects are in the pipe.
• InfoShare
  Provides more in-depth statistics for neighborhoods including immigration stats. Search by neighborhood, zipcode or community district number.
• My Neighborhood Statistics
  Allows you to visualize land-use, as well as data for a neighborhood. See where post-offices, schools, etc. are located in your neighborhood.
• EveryBlockNYC
  Combines news stories, civic information (building permits, restaurant closings, complaints, etc), and web content (photos from flickr) by location. Search for your neighborhood to see what’s going on.
• Search BobCat for books
  • Search by the neighborhood’s name ex. Fort Greene
  • Select “Subject Heading (LCSH)” from the pull-down menu
  • Click on a subject heading to see the titles NYU owns
• Check out your neighborhood branch of the public library
  Click on the Map on the left sidebar to find branches in your neighborhood. Branch libraries often have information about the neighborhood they serve.

Immigration/Ethnic Groups in a Community

• Newest New Yorkers 2000: Immigrant New York in the New Millennium from the NYC Department of City Planning, Population Division. Access via the Index to Current Urban Documents (NYU-ONLY). Once in the database, search for “Newest New Yorkers”.
• Search BobCat for books
  • Try a subject heading search for Immigrants–New York (State)–New York OR the specific ethnic group, ex. East Indians–New York (State) –New York
• Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
  Includes a directory of services for immigrants in NYC (including associations, etc.)
• IPA-NY -IndyPress
  Includes Voices that Must Be Heard series (which includes translated articles) and a link to a map of Ethnic Press in NYC.

New York City Neighborhoods

Use travel guides and books to familiarize yourself with your neighborhood

• Bobst Library has a number of books on New York City and New York City neighborhoods, including travel guides which can be useful for learning more about your neighborhood. Most materials are in the 1st floor Reference area at the call number F 128.

Read news coverage of your neighborhood

• LexisNexis –New York News Sources [NYU-Only]
  This pre-defined category searches the New York Post, Village Voice, New York Magazine, New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, and more. For more LexisNexis search tips see the LexisNexis post.
• Factiva [NYU-ONLY]
  Like LexisNexis, Factiva covers tons of news sources. There is a lot of overlap, but Factiva tends to be better on the trades. (Factiva also includes Time Out which is not included in LexisNexis.TIPS–Use the hlp command to tell it to find your keywords in the Headline Lead Paragraphex. hlp=nolita

  –Click on “Custom to see all of the searchable field abbreviations.

  –Use the Region menu to limit your search to sources/articles identified with that region.

• Gotham Gazette
  Includes “New York City News and Policy” articles as well as links to tons of NYC resources. Check out the Links Section (lower left side bar) for links to Org(anizations) and News Sites (local weeklies, etc.) Click on Manhattan in the Boros section to find out more about neighborhood resources. NYC Blogs are also listed.
• EveryBlockNYC
  Combines news stories, civic information (building permits, restaurant closings, complaints, etc), and web content (photos from flickr) by location. Search for your neighborhood to see what’s going on.

Identify your community board

• Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit: Community Boards (available via the NYC.gov site)
  Lists contacts, as well as websites (when a board has a website).
• Find Your Community Board
  A list with contact and web address information for local community boards in all 5 boroughs. Community Board websites typically contain demographic and statistical data, in addition to constituent services. (Not all community boards have websites.)

Identify your neighborhood’s characteristics
Note: lots of data is organized around the community district # (same as the board number)

• Department of City Planning (available via the NYC.gov site)
  Use the Reference area to identify your community district and get a statistical community district profile. Use Projects and Proposals to see what projects are in the pipe.

• My Neighborhood Statistics
  Allows you to visualize land-use, as well as data for a neighborhood. See where post-offices, schools, etc. are located in your neighborhood.

Neighborhood Planning

• PlanNYC Portal
  See what projects are planned for your neighborhood
• Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy
  Check out their State of New York Neighborhoods report.

Immigrant Populations in Neighborhoods

• See the Newest New Yorkers 2000: Immigrant New York in the New Millennium from the NYC Department of City Planning, Population Division. Access via the Index to Current Urban Documents (NYU-ONLY). Once in the database, search for “Newest New Yorkers”.

Stars in your neighborhood

• Star Map
  From New York Magazine’s August 7, 2006 article “Notes on New York’s Celebrity Infestation by Adam Sternbergh.

NYC Information and Statistics

General Starting Places

• Gotham Gazette
  Topics provide you with useful links to NYC resources.
• NYC.gov
  City agencies provide tons of information. Select “City Agencies, View All” from the left pull-down menu to link to city agency sites.

Government Info and Documents

• NYC Government Info and Documents at Columbia University
  Points to a large number of NYC government documents that are freely available via the web.
• City Hall Library/Municipal Archives
  Official depository for agency published reports and studies. Search for government documents/records from this site. Includes vital records (birth certificates, etc.)
• Index to Current Urban Documents [NYU-Only]
  The only regularly published guide to the reports and research generated by local government agencies, civic organizations, academic and research organizations, public libraries, and metropolitan and regional planning agencies in approximately 500 selected cities in the United States and Canada. Includes “Newest New Yorkers” Report.

Community/Neighborhood Information

Statistics

• Infoshare Online
  Contains data files are obtained from city, state, and federal government agencies.
• NYC Data
  Compiled by Baruch College
• New York City and State Statistical Sources
  From Columbia University Libraries

Arts Statistics

• The Broadway League
  “As the national trade association for the commercial theatre industry, the League serves as the central hub for statistical information about Broadway theatre production in North America. “
• Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting
• Alliance for the Arts
  Includes statistics for the arts in NYC.

Economic Statistics

• Economic Snapshots
  From the New York City Economic Development Corporation; issued monthly.
• New York State Department of Labor
  Includes statistics related to employment and unemployment.