New York, NY - Eye In The Sky for the Buildings Department

New York, NY - City Buildings Department inspectors have been hitching rides on NYPD helicopters in the past five months - the better to zero in on illegal-development activities escaping ground-level enforcement.

Already, stop-work orders have been issued for illegal demolition behind a fenced property in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The city is seeking better enforcement techniques amid a building boom that has seen formal complaints for "priority A" emergencies, the most serious, go up each year since 2002. In fact, 13,210 such complaints were filed between July and March - exceeding all of 2004's 10,919.

The choppers take off from Floyd Bennett Field about once a month. Availability depends on the weather and NYPD needs. Inspectors compare sharp camera images with work permits already on record.