Department of Finance tax assessment photographs, 1982-1988
Collection REC0041 - RG 035. Department of Finance
Abstract
The collection consists of 35mm color negatives and 3.5 x 5 inch color prints (printed from the negatives) created by the New York City Department of Finance, 1982-1988, to document all real property (structures and land) for tax assessment purposes. There are approximately 900,000 images spanning the five boroughs of New York City.
Extent
199.48 cubic feet (772 boxes)
Dates
1982-1988
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Additional Description
Physical Location
Materials are stored at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was transferred from the New York City Department of Finance to the New York City Municipal Archives in 2005.
Existence and Location of Copies
Selections of the collection have been digitized and can be accessed via theDigital Collectionswebsite. Pleasecontact usto arrange access to non-digitized materials.
Processing Information
In 2005, the New York City Municipal Archives accessioned the original color negatives and color prints from the New York City Department of Finance. The collection had been stored in the basement of the Municipal Building.
At that time, approximately 75 percent of the prints and negatives were packed into metal file cabinets with rudimentary labels, with the rest haphazardly packed into cartons. The negatives were housed in acidic paper envelopes organized by block. Most prints were segregated in plastic envelopes by block. In the process of transferring the boxes and cabinets to the Municipal Building basement, the prints and negatives became disordered.
A team from the Municipal Archives removed the material from the filing cabinets and packed the prints and negatives separately into boxes by borough, maintaining the block order whenever it still existed. The boxes were then transported to the Municipal Archives’ main facility at 31 Chambers Street where they were placed on shelves in climate-controlled storage rooms.
In 2008, the Municipal Archives received a grant from the New York State Library to rehouse and improve access to the collection. Oriana Calman was hired as a part-time technician to perform the work. In batches of approximately 40, the prints were removed from their plastic sleeves and placed in acid-free/lignin-free paper open-end envelopes, pre-stamped with the borough identification. The block number was written on the sleeves with a graphite pencil, and the envelopes were placed into acid-free/lignin-free storage boxes. Each box was labeled with an acid-free label listing the borough and the block sequence contained within. 1,196,244 prints were rehoused at this time.
The negatives were originally standard 36-image rolls, and they had been cut down in the lab into nine to eleven strips of up to four frames each. Rehousing of the negatives was completed around the same time as the prints. Each envelope of prints and the negatives corresponds to a block, and there may more than one envelope per block.
An inventory of the collection (by borough and block number, box number, and location) was produced in a Microsoft Access database.
The Department of Finance made 4x6 mini-lab prints of the photographs, recorded them frame-by frame using a video camera, and transferred the frames to Laser Video Discs (LVD). In 2009, the Municipal Archives was able to capture approximately 850,000 frames from the LVDs, which were uploaded to a digital gallery (Luna) for public access via the Internet.
In 2024, the collection was uploaded to a new digital preservation/public access platform. In 2025, as resource record (EAD finding aid) was created in ArchivesSpace for online access.
At that time, approximately 75 percent of the prints and negatives were packed into metal file cabinets with rudimentary labels, with the rest haphazardly packed into cartons. The negatives were housed in acidic paper envelopes organized by block. Most prints were segregated in plastic envelopes by block. In the process of transferring the boxes and cabinets to the Municipal Building basement, the prints and negatives became disordered.
A team from the Municipal Archives removed the material from the filing cabinets and packed the prints and negatives separately into boxes by borough, maintaining the block order whenever it still existed. The boxes were then transported to the Municipal Archives’ main facility at 31 Chambers Street where they were placed on shelves in climate-controlled storage rooms.
In 2008, the Municipal Archives received a grant from the New York State Library to rehouse and improve access to the collection. Oriana Calman was hired as a part-time technician to perform the work. In batches of approximately 40, the prints were removed from their plastic sleeves and placed in acid-free/lignin-free paper open-end envelopes, pre-stamped with the borough identification. The block number was written on the sleeves with a graphite pencil, and the envelopes were placed into acid-free/lignin-free storage boxes. Each box was labeled with an acid-free label listing the borough and the block sequence contained within. 1,196,244 prints were rehoused at this time.
The negatives were originally standard 36-image rolls, and they had been cut down in the lab into nine to eleven strips of up to four frames each. Rehousing of the negatives was completed around the same time as the prints. Each envelope of prints and the negatives corresponds to a block, and there may more than one envelope per block.
An inventory of the collection (by borough and block number, box number, and location) was produced in a Microsoft Access database.
The Department of Finance made 4x6 mini-lab prints of the photographs, recorded them frame-by frame using a video camera, and transferred the frames to Laser Video Discs (LVD). In 2009, the Municipal Archives was able to capture approximately 850,000 frames from the LVDs, which were uploaded to a digital gallery (Luna) for public access via the Internet.
In 2024, the collection was uploaded to a new digital preservation/public access platform. In 2025, as resource record (EAD finding aid) was created in ArchivesSpace for online access.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of approximately 900,000 images of buildings across the five boroughs created by the Department of Finance between 1982 and 1988 to document all real property (structures and land) in New York City for tax assessment purposes. Every block and lot in the city was photographed. Property types include warehouses, residential dwellings, retail establishments, mixed use, industrial facilities, and others. Generally, the photographs generally do not show any people. The images are in two formats, 35mm color negatives and 3.5 x 5 inch color prints (printed from the negatives). The photographs show the numerical borough designation followed by the block and lot number.
The collection comprises a photographic record of buildings in New York City during the 1980s, providing insight into life in the city, information on real property, and views of the city’s streets and landscape. Previously, the Tax Department, along with the Works Projects Administration (WPA), conducted a photographic survey of every block and lot in the city, mainly from 1939-1941. This collection is New York City Municipal Archives as REC0040 1940s Tax Department photographs.
There are many duplicate prints and negatives, as images were reshot for quality. The collection may contain a print without a corresponding negative, or vice versa. In instances of condominium buildings or lofts, a photograph of the building was taken for each individual unit, resulting in multiple photographs of the same building. Photographs of lofts can be identified with four-digit lot numbers beyond the borough and block and lot numbers.
The collection comprises a photographic record of buildings in New York City during the 1980s, providing insight into life in the city, information on real property, and views of the city’s streets and landscape. Previously, the Tax Department, along with the Works Projects Administration (WPA), conducted a photographic survey of every block and lot in the city, mainly from 1939-1941. This collection is New York City Municipal Archives as REC0040 1940s Tax Department photographs.
There are many duplicate prints and negatives, as images were reshot for quality. The collection may contain a print without a corresponding negative, or vice versa. In instances of condominium buildings or lofts, a photograph of the building was taken for each individual unit, resulting in multiple photographs of the same building. Photographs of lofts can be identified with four-digit lot numbers beyond the borough and block and lot numbers.
Biographical/Historical Information
The New York City Department of Finance was created in 1831, with the Comptroller as its head and the Chamberlain as a subordinate division. In 1938, the Comptroller's Office was set up as a department separate from the Department of Finance, and the Chamberlain’s Office was dissolved.
By the 1980s, the Department of Finance was responsible for, among other things, all of the functions and operations of the City of New York relating to the administration and collection of taxes, assessments, and charges; the collection of money due to the city; inspections and evaluations of all real property annually; and recording of deeds, mortgages, and leases.
The materials in this collection were created by the Department of Finance and its Real Property Assessment Bureau, formerly the Tax Department, 1982-1988. They were created to document, through photographs and data collection, all real property (structures and land) in the five boroughs for tax assessment purposes.
At its peak, the project had sixty people in the field, working in teams of two, including photographers and data collectors. The first photographers were originally data-collectors, and then a photo component was added to the project. Data was collected on forms. One of the staff developed a metal arm that attached to each camera so that the block and lot number would be in focus and appear in the image.
In order to provide the public with a database of the images and information, the Department of Finance made 4 x 6 inch mini-lab prints of the photographs, recorded them frame-by frame using a video camera, and transferred the frames to Laser Video Discs (LVD). This allowed the public to look up addresses in the system to find a photograph and information for a property. The system was part of the Department of Finance’s larger initiative of Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA).
By the 1980s, the Department of Finance was responsible for, among other things, all of the functions and operations of the City of New York relating to the administration and collection of taxes, assessments, and charges; the collection of money due to the city; inspections and evaluations of all real property annually; and recording of deeds, mortgages, and leases.
The materials in this collection were created by the Department of Finance and its Real Property Assessment Bureau, formerly the Tax Department, 1982-1988. They were created to document, through photographs and data collection, all real property (structures and land) in the five boroughs for tax assessment purposes.
At its peak, the project had sixty people in the field, working in teams of two, including photographers and data collectors. The first photographers were originally data-collectors, and then a photo component was added to the project. Data was collected on forms. One of the staff developed a metal arm that attached to each camera so that the block and lot number would be in focus and appear in the image.
In order to provide the public with a database of the images and information, the Department of Finance made 4 x 6 inch mini-lab prints of the photographs, recorded them frame-by frame using a video camera, and transferred the frames to Laser Video Discs (LVD). This allowed the public to look up addresses in the system to find a photograph and information for a property. The system was part of the Department of Finance’s larger initiative of Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA).
Sources
- Michael Lorenzini, “A Flashback to the 1980s Tax Photographs,” For the Record (blog), May 3, 2019, New York City Department of Records and Information Services, https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/5/3/the-1980s-tax-photographs.
- Aaron Goodwin, New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians, Chapter 19: Photography Collections, 1940s and 1980s Tax Photos Collection (New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 2016).
- William Doyle (Ed.), The City of New York Official Directory: 1982-83 (New York), 85-88.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into five geographic series by borough based on the New York City Department of Finance’s code for each borough: Manhattan – 1; Bronx – 2; Brooklyn – 3; Queens – 4; Staten Island – 5.
Series List
- Manhattan tax assessment photographs
- Bronx tax assessment photographs
- Brooklyn tax assessment photographs
- Queens tax assessment photographs
- Staten Island tax assessment photographs
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title
- Guide to the Department of Finance tax assessment photographs, 1982-1988
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Hanan Ohayon
- Date
- 2025 April
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
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Subjects