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NYC’s construction boom appears to have peaked

New York City’s construction boom is showing signs of slowing.

New construction around the city is still strong throughout the five boroughs, especially in Manhattan, but the number of new sites appeared to cool last year, according to data released by the buildings department.

Buildings Commissioner Rick Chandler unveiled the department’s report on 2018 construction on Tuesday, and found that the city had issued 165,988 permits last year, the second highest on record. That represented a drop of 2,255permits issued by the buildings department, compared  with 2017, the first decline in permits since 2009, according to Chandler.

"While construction activity remains strong, the building boom may have finally hit its peak,” he said in a statement.

All together, the 2018 construction permits amounted to 46 million square feet of new floor space in the city. Manhattan claimed the greatest share, with 72,004 permits, about 43 percent of the total number of permits issued, according to the report.

Brooklyn had the greatest number of new building permits, with Greenpoint and Williamsburg topping the list of neighborhoods with 414 total permits, the most in the borough,  according to the report.

Flushing led the city  in the number of approved demolition projects,148 total, and major alteration projects, 446, the report found.