# Changelog of NYC Building Permits Scraper: DOB NOW Approved Permits (`humble-echidna/nyc-building-permits`) Actor

- **URL**: https://apify.com/humble-echidna/nyc-building-permits/changelog.md
- **Full Actor documentation**: https://apify.com/humble-echidna/nyc-building-permits.md

## Changelog

Versions follow MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (`src/version.py`); Apify shows MAJOR.MINOR from `.actor/actor.json`.
Every run logs its version and records it in the `RUN_STATS` key-value record.

### 0.1.1 (2026-10-16)

- A run that returns nothing (every input bad, private, blocked or unreachable, or an empty input) now ends
  SUCCEEDED with an empty dataset and the reason as its status message and in the log, instead of FAILED. Only an
  unexpected error still fails the run. `RUN_STATS` keeps the reason as before.
- No change to output fields or price.

### 0.1.0 (unreleased)

First release.

- Reads NYC Open Data's **DOB NOW: Build – Approved Permits** (dataset `rbx6-tga4`, updated daily by the Department
  of Buildings) through its public SODA API, and returns one normalized record per permit issuance: the source's
  rows (one per work type of the permit's job) are joined, with every work type in `workTypes`; boroughs spelled one
  way; dates as YYYY-MM-DD; costs and coordinates as numbers; BIN/BBL as text; an address line; a stable `id` from
  the permit, sequence and tracking numbers (Socrata's own row ids change on every reload); a `sourceUrl` API query
  returning the permit's source rows; and `sourceUpdatedAt`, when DOB last changed them.
- Filters: issued or approved date (last N days or a date range), boroughs, work types (matched on any of the job's
  work types), filing reasons, permit statuses, ZIP codes, BINs, job-description keywords, minimum estimated cost.
- "Only new or changed permits since the last run": state in the user's named store `nyc-building-permits-memory`,
  one record per filter set (and optional monitor name); reads only rows DOB changed since the last run, skips (and
  doesn't charge) permits re-published unchanged, labels the rest `new` or `changed`; a run where the dataset hasn't
  changed stops after one request. Only what was pushed is remembered.
- Person names (applicant, filing representative, owner) and the owner's mailing address are never requested or
  returned.
- Optional user-supplied Socrata app token, sent only in the `X-App-Token` header.
- Charged per permit returned, through Apify's standard `apify-default-dataset-item` event; "Max results per run"
  (default 1,000, so a run with no input stays small) and the maximum cost per run are honoured.

Source checks (ACTOR-CHECKLIST section 6), read 2026-10-04:

- **The endpoint is published for programs:** the dataset's API page,
  https://dev.socrata.com/foundry/data.cityofnewyork.us/rbx6-tga4, and Socrata's SODA docs
  (https://dev.socrata.com/docs/endpoints.html, https://dev.socrata.com/docs/app-tokens.html). robots.txt of
  data.cityofnewyork.us allows `/resource/` (it asks for `Crawl-delay: 1`, which the shared client honours).
- **Terms:** NYC Administrative Code § 23-502(d) (Local Law 11 of 2012): public data sets "shall be made available
  without any registration requirement, license requirement or restrictions on their use", except that a third party
  may be required "to explicitly identify the source and version of the public data set, and a description of any
  modifications" (https://nyc-laws.readthedocs.io/en/latest/nycadmincode/t23/c05/; enacted text:
  https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=649911\&GUID=E650813B-B1E9-4E56-81BA-58261487DA4A).
  NYC Open Data's FAQ (https://www.nyc.gov/opendata/get-started/FAQs): "Are there restrictions on how I can use Open
  Data? Open Data belongs to all New Yorkers. There are no restrictions on the use of Open Data." The portal's pages
  link NYC.gov's terms of use (https://www.nyc.gov/main/terms-of-use), which contain no clause on commercial reuse,
  automated access or APIs: section I forbids unlawful use and disrupting the servers, section VI disclaims
  warranties. Their section IV says materials
  "contained in or displayed on NYC.gov" are the City's property, "All rights are reserved"; for public data sets
  the Open Data Law above (no restrictions on use) and the portal's own FAQ govern. The dataset has no
  license field; attribution: Department of Buildings (DOB). Source, version (`RUN_STATS.source.datasetUpdatedAt`,
  `sourceUpdatedAt` per record) and the modifications are stated in the README.