Signal-3: Grading Buildings

Yesterday, I came across this new startup called “Rentlogic” that uses data collected from New York City government agencies to rate buildings. The rating is an A to F letter grade given to a building based on the number of violations issued by the city and verified by a building inspector.

As an architect and a NYC dweller I was excited to check the rating of the building I live in. I was expecting a B, but to my surprise I got a C grade. Then I looked up another apartment that I have been to and know a lot about in the same neighborhood, and while I was expecting a C I got an A. The latter building is in bad shape yet committed no violations, whereas my building had 8 non-hazardous violations.

Even after knowing the grades I still want to live in my apartment and never wish to relocate to the A grade apartment above. This an example of how a data analysis can be misleading. A different approach could break down the overall grade into sub-grades resembling categories (violations, building condition, landlord respondence, etc..) that add up to measure the overall performance of a building. Such a scheme could be fairer and would offer the renters a more detailed assessment for them to base their decisions upon.