Privacy and data sources
What this site records about the people who use it, and where the building data in its tools comes from.
Operated by BPD Consultants
Who this applies to
Who we are
This site is operated by BPD Consultants. This page describes how bpd-consultants.com handles information about the people who visit it, and where the building data in its tools comes from. Inquiries submitted through this site are received by BPD Consultants. Questions or requests about anything on this page can be sent through the inquiry form on this site.
Collected automatically
What the tools record
When you use one of the building tools, this site records anonymous statistics about the request: which tool was used, which public dataset it queried, whether the answer came from this site’s cache or from NYC Open Data, approximately how many records were returned as a range rather than a count, and whether the request succeeded.
These statistics do not record the address, building identification number or tax lot you searched for, your full IP address, or your browser’s user agent string.
To distinguish one visitor from another within a single day, a one-way cryptographic hash is derived from your network address and browser using a secret key that is replaced every 24 hours and not retained. Once that key is replaced, the hash cannot be linked to you or to any device. A count of how many distinct buildings were viewed is stored against that daily hash; which buildings they were is not stored.
A shortened form of your network address is also recorded: the first three of its four parts for IPv4, which identifies a network of up to 256 addresses rather than an individual connection. This is used to identify automated bulk collection.
These statistics are retained for 90 days and then deleted automatically.
Cookies and third parties
What else runs on this page
This site uses the following third-party services. Some of them set cookies in your browser or receive your IP address as part of loading the page.
- Google Analytics (loaded via Google Tag Manager): collects usage statistics and sets cookies beginning
_ga, which expire after two years. Governed by Google’s privacy policy. - Jetpack Stats (stats.wp.com, operated by Automattic): collects site traffic statistics. Governed by Automattic’s privacy policy.
- Cloudflare cdnjs (cdnjs.cloudflare.com): supplies the mapping and 3D drawing libraries used by the Zoning Map and Record Web; your IP address is visible to Cloudflare when either of those tools loads.
- ArcGIS (services5.arcgis.com, operated by Esri): supplies mapping data used by some tools.
- NYC Basemap (maps.nyc.gov): supplies the street and aerial map tiles drawn by the Zoning Map. Operated by the City of New York.
- NYC Planning Labs GeoSearch (geosearch.planninglabs.nyc): matches an address you type to a building. Operated by the City of New York.
- NYC Open Data (data.cityofnewyork.us): the source of the building records shown by the tools.
Some links inside the tools open a document or a search on a site this one does not operate. Following such a link sends your network address to that site in the ordinary way, and nothing about your visit here travels with it.
- ACRIS (a836-acris.nyc.gov): opened from a property sale record to reach the recorded document. Operated by the City of New York.
- DOB BIS Web and DOB NOW (a810-bisweb.nyc.gov, a810-dobnow.nyc.gov): opened to reach the City’s own record for a building or a filing.
- NYCHA Design Guidelines (designguidelines.nycha.info): hosts the detail and specification documents opened from NYCHA Standards. Operated by the New York City Housing Authority.
- Google Search (www.google.com): the Find PDF links on NYCSCA Standards run a search rather than opening a file directly.
WordPress sets a cookie only when someone logs in to the site itself.
The tools also store information on your own device, in your browser’s local storage, its session storage, and for Building Profile its IndexedDB database. That includes which buildings you have viewed, how you have configured each tool, which records you have selected, and a cached copy of building data so that returning to a page does not query the City again. It stays on your device, is not transmitted to this site, and can be cleared through your browser’s settings.
Information you send us
Inquiries
If you submit an inquiry through a form on this site, what you enter is stored as a private record and a notification is emailed to BPD Consultants so that it can be answered. Depending on which form you use, that record may include your name, email address, firm, phone number, and the details you provide about your project, along with the page you submitted from, the browser string your browser reports, and your screen size.
Your full IP address is not stored with an inquiry. A shortened form of it is kept with the record to identify automated submissions. It is also used to limit how many submissions can be sent in a short period, as a salted hash that expires within the hour.
Inquiry records are kept indefinitely as a record of correspondence and of a commercial relationship, rather than deleted on a schedule. They can be deleted on request.
Your rights
Access and deletion
You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of information held about you. Because the automatic statistics described above contain no identifying information and their key is destroyed daily, it is generally not possible to locate records relating to a specific person within them. Inquiries submitted through a form can be located and deleted on request. Requests can be made through the inquiry form or to BPD Consultants directly.
Where the data comes from
Sources and accuracy
All building records shown by these tools are public records published by New York City agencies through NYC Open Data.
These records are provided as-is and may lag official City systems. DOB NOW and BIS WEB are the authoritative sources. This site is a convenience layer over published extracts and may be several days behind. It is not an official City record and should not be relied on as the final word on any filing, violation, permit or certificate. The City of New York does not warrant the completeness, accuracy, content or fitness for any purpose of these datasets, and neither does this site.
This site keeps a short-lived copy of each answer to reduce load on the City’s servers. Most records are refreshed daily. Reference data that changes rarely (lot boundaries, building footprints, landmark designations) is held longer. Nightly copies of the records for previously viewed buildings are also retained so that a record can be shown as it stood on a given date; these contain public City data only and are keyed by building.