The City Tracker Data model

City Tracker is an API-first company. In this post, we cover key technical features of our API.

Endpoints in production (status 10/29/2025):

  • tax_lots
  • permits

In progress:

  • filings
  • companies

These API endpoints are as consistent as possible: Each of them returns a list of results satisfying filter criteria with a standardized data model.

Key tags

  • Address: The closest representation of a building entrance. A building can have multiple addresses.
  • Tax lot: A plot of land that can be individually sold (or a condominium). A tax lot can have multiple addresses.
  • Zoning lot: A zoning lot consists of contiguous tax lots. These are not formally tracked in public data, and currently not tracked in City Tracker
  • BIN (Building Information Number): An identifier for a distinct building that's used in DOB filings and permits. A tax lot can have multiple BINs, a BIN can span multiple tax lots (rare), and a BIN can have different addresses.
  • Filing: A request to undertake work
  • Permit: Specific work tasks that result from an approved filing. A filing can result in multiple permits, each with a different work type.