Free means free
No paywall, no metered searches, no “create an account to continue.” An account exists only to save watchlists and send alerts.
Show the source
Every number on this site traces to a named public dataset with a visible sync timestamp. When a feed is late, the page says so.
Records, not verdicts
We publish what the city recorded. We do not editorialize about owners or tenants — the record speaks, and it is the same record for everyone.
Corrections in public
When we get something wrong, the fix is dated and stays visible. Silent edits are how data sites lose trust.
How we score buildings
The letter grade on every building page is arithmetic, not opinion. Seven inputs from the public record are converted to points on a fixed 0–100 scale — 0 is pristine, 100 is the worst the scale can express — and the total maps to a letter. It is a fixed scale, not a comparison to other buildings, and we publish the exact point values because a score you cannot audit is a score you should not trust.
A grade describes public records about a building, not the people living in it or the current condition of any single apartment. Records lag: a violation corrected yesterday may still read as open until the city processes the paperwork. Heat and bedbug inputs are derived from record text and filing data, so edge cases in the source data can miscount them — when they do, the corrections address below is the fix.
Every dataset we use
Every dataset behind this site, where it comes from, how often we pull it, and when it last landed. If a sync is late, it shows here before anyone has to ask.
Source: NYC Open Data (data.cityofnewyork.us). Failed syncs retry hourly. All data republished here free, with attribution.
Contact
- Everything
- hello@openviolations.org
One address for questions, press, data requests, security reports, and corrections. If a record on this site looks wrong, include the violation or summons number — we will check it against the source dataset and publish a dated note either way.
What we store about you
Nothing, unless you sign in — and then only your email address, your watchlist, and your alert preferences. No ad trackers, no data resale, no sharing addresses with landlords. Every violation record on this site is readable without an account.