NEW YORK, NY February 05, 2007 —Despite a slight dip in the number of building permits issued last year, the city says the construction boom continues. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez has more.

In 2006 nearly 31-thousand building permits were issued for new apartments in the city. That's a decline of about 638 compared to the prior year, according to U.S. Census numbers. Brooklyn has the most permits issued followed by Manhattan - both boroughs saw increases over last year. Staten Island building permits decreased the most.

Housing officials say this could be because of down-zoning aimed at stopping over development in the borough. And, they say, the number of building permits issued in 2005 and 2006 represent the highest two-year total since 1965. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez