Finding NYC mechanical work before the bid: a guide to DOB data

MEPSub · 8 min read · November 2026

In New York City, most mechanical work leaves a paper trail long before the bid list goes out. Filings, permits, violations and inspections are public — published as open data. Contractors who read it call the owner or the engineer first.

Where the data comes from

The city publishes its building records on NYC Open Data. The sets that matter most to mechanical trades:

• DOB NOW job filings and permits — the current filing system for plumbing, mechanical, sprinkler, standpipe and boiler work, with the owner, the engineer of record and the filing representative.
• Older BIS records — permits and filings from the previous Buildings Information System, still useful for a building’s history.
• DOB and ECB violations — open violations for boilers, plumbing and gas, mechanical systems and sprinklers.
• DOB complaints — complaints filed at a building, often the first sign that something needs fixing.
• Boiler inspections and DEP boiler registrations — fuel type, inspection results and defects.
• Cooling tower registrations and health department inspections.
• Certificates of occupancy — new buildings with new systems someone will have to service.
• HPD violations and complaints — heat, hot water and gas problems in residential buildings, with the managing agent registered with HPD.
• LL84 energy benchmarking — what large buildings report they use, the starting point for Local Law 97 exposure.

Signals worth a call

Filed, but no permit for your trade

A job with HVAC or plumbing work filed and drawings approved, but no permit pulled for your trade yet, is work that hasn’t been awarded. The filing names the owner, the engineer and the expediter.

Open violations

A building with an open boiler, gas or mechanical violation has been told to fix it, on a deadline. That’s a customer with a reason to call back.

Heat and hot water

HPD “no heat” and “no hot water” violations and complaints, especially in season, point at boilers and distribution that need service now — and the managing agent is on file.

Fuel and emissions

Buildings still on No. 4 oil face the city’s phase-out, and buildings over 25,000 square feet face Local Law 97 emissions limits, with stricter limits from 2030. Both mean equipment decisions in the next few years.

Expiring permits

Your own permits expire too. Watching expiration dates avoids renewals filed late — and other contractors’ lapsing permits can mean stalled jobs.

Know who brings the work

The same engineers of record, expediters and repeat owners file a large share of mid-size work. Counting who files what in your trades and boroughs tells you whose relationship is worth building — and following them shows every new job they file.

Check before you sign

The same public records help you judge a GC or an owner: their DOB permits, ECB violations and unpaid penalties, and New York State public-work debarments and wage findings. Ten minutes of checking before a subcontract can save a year of chasing payment.

Doing it without a data team

You can query NYC Open Data yourself, but the sets don’t join neatly and they change every day. MEPSub’s DOB Leads add-on reads them nightly and turns them into ranked lists for your trades and boroughs — before the award, violations, heat and hot water, boilers, cooling towers, new COs, LL97, complaints and expiring permits — with one search box, saved searches with nightly alerts, and one click to make a record a lead. See DOB Leads or MEPSub for NYC contractors.