newyorkdailyStreet Futures
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Methodology · version 1.0

What the record says, and where interpretation begins.

Our methods are designed to make a complex filing easier to read while preserving its uncertainty, provenance and date.

1. Source hierarchy

Street Futures gives priority to records published by New York City agencies, followed by New York State and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority where the subject requires it. Every layer names its agency, dataset and dataset identifier.

2. Inclusion quality gate

A public URL is not automatically suitable for search engines. A project page becomes indexable only when the snapshot contains a stable record identifier, a mapped address, a substantive scope description, dated status information and enough additional detail to answer a real address-level question.

  1. Stable DOB filing number and a valid mapped address.
  2. BIN or BBL when the source publishes one.
  3. A scope description with meaningful content.
  4. At least two dated milestones or a current milestone plus scope.
  5. A non-withdrawn status for indexable launch pages.
  6. A direct link to the canonical official dataset.

Pages below the threshold may still support map exploration, but they remain outside the sitemap and carry a noindex instruction.

3. Classification

Development filings are grouped as new building, full demolition or alteration using the DOB job type and published work flags. The label is an organizational interpretation by Street Futures; the filing number, status and described scope remain the controlling record.

4. Status and time

We retain the filing date, approval date, first permit date, current status date and sign-off date when they are available. A missing field is displayed as not recorded rather than inferred. “Latest” refers to the source's current-status date, not to a site visit.

5. Neighborhood, street and building grouping

Neighborhood pages use the Neighborhood Tabulation Area value published with each source row. Building pages group records by BIN. Street pages group a normalized street name within one borough. These groupings improve navigation; they do not assert that separate filings belong to one construction project.

6. What Street Futures does not infer

  • Whether construction is physically underway today.
  • Whether a proposed scope will be completed as filed.
  • Future property values, rents or investment returns.
  • Motives of owners, applicants, agencies or elected officials.
  • Safety, code compliance or legal rights beyond the cited record.

7. Corrections and versioning

Source snapshots are refreshed and dated. When an entity changes materially, its page can update while retaining its stable URL. Corrections are reviewed against the named source, and material editorial corrections are documented.