How it works
Public filings in. Three callable leads out.
Here is exactly what BidSeer reads, when, what it keeps, and where the data falls short.
What we read
| Source | Publisher | What it gives us |
|---|---|---|
| DOB NOW: Build job application filings | NYC Dept. of Buildings, NYC Open Data | New Building and Alteration filings: address, job type, filing date, owner, applicant, units, description |
| DOB NOW: Build approved permits | NYC Dept. of Buildings, NYC Open Data | Work-type permits as they're approved and issued, and who pulled them |
| DOB License Info | NYC Dept. of Buildings, NYC Open Data | License type, number and business name, used to match a GC to a real license |
| Active corporations | NY Dept. of State, data.ny.gov | Legal entity name and status |
| Housing project data | NYC HPD, NYC Open Data | Affordable-housing projects, unit counts, prevailing-wage flags |
How often
Once every weekday morning, around 6:15 AM ET. The city datasets update daily, usually overnight, so a filing made yesterday is normally in this morning's read. This morning's run checked 5,411 open filings across the window we track (the last 60 days of filings plus recent permits).
What "no sub listed" means
For each job we look at the permits attached to that filing. If a GC is named and no permit for your scope has been pulled yet, and the GC doesn't hold that license itself, the job is flagged "no sub listed."
That's all it means. It does not mean the job is unawarded.
Its limits
- Many GCs pick subs long before a permit is pulled. The filing can't show a handshake.
- Some scopes never need their own permit, so they never show up on the filings at all.
- City data has typos, missing unit counts and blank fields. We drop rows we can't read cleanly rather than guess.
- A pre-permit job can stall for months, or never start.
So every lead comes with the question to ask first: who handles bids in your scope, and are they still taking numbers.
How contacts are checked
- Match the GC on the filing to its DOB license record and its NY State entity.
- Take the company's office number and estimating email from its own site or public listings.
- Cross-check the number and name against the company's DOB license and filing records and its public listings, and check that the email's domain has working mail (MX) records. That doesn't prove a person reads that inbox.
- Keep the source of each contact on file. Of the 111 GC records on file, 92 are fully checked today; the rest aren't sent until they are.
The draft intro
Every lead comes with a short, ready-to-send intro email to the GC or buyer, written for that job: the address, what was filed, and a plain ask about who takes bids and when they’re due. Send it as is, or edit it to sound like you. It’s a few lines, not a pitch.
What you get
Three leads in your morning email every weekday, in the layout shown on the home page: address, job size, filing date, the GC, a number to call, an email, and why it made the cut.