Results tagged “map”

Website Ride the City debuted in 2008, integrating Google maps with data about ideal bike routes to let cyclists map a bike ride along as many bike paths as possible, or take their chances with the "fastest," most direct route. Now, with Google's own Bike Directions function breathing down their necks, Ride the City has launched their NYC iPhone app, making their site ideally portable. more ›

Twelve years ago, a few committed unpaid activists in Brooklyn banded together to push for the creation of a tree-lined cycling and pedestrian route along what was then 14 miles of inhospitable roads between Greenpoint and Sunset Park, along the waterfront. Called the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the grassroots effort has slowly blossomed, and with the proposed bike lane addition to a gnarly stretch of Flushing Avenue, there will be an almost uninterrupted stretch of dedicated bike lanes from Greenpoint to DUMBO. Now the DOT is officially making the entire Greenway dream a top priority. more ›

Does this map sort of make you feel like you are in New York City but also like you are in Pitfall or Legend of Zelda? Creator Brett Camper says his 8-Bit NYC map "is an attempt to make the city feel foreign yet familiar, smashing together two culturally common models of space: the lo-fi overhead world maps of 1980s role-playing and adventure games, and the geographically accurate data that drives today's web maps and GPS navigation. Take some time to think about New York a little differently. Set out on a quest. Be an adventurer." Do you think one day there will be a vintage map created out of the old school Wii aesthetic? [via Kottke] more ›

Earlier this month the New York Public Library launched their interactive map site, which allows users to bring the old city landscape together with the current one. Now the folks at SepiaTown are zooming in a little bit closer. The site, which just launched, "lets people experience the past through a large and growing collection of user-submitted, mapped historical images." more ›

It's the question that's baffled every four-year-old in America. Where does the water go when you flush the toilet? Now, thanks to this map from the environmental health organization Habitat Map, you can find out the answer. The map breaks down the city into color-coded "sewagesheds," allowing New Yorkers can figure out if their toilets contribute to the stench that has long plagued sections of Brooklyn near the Owls Head Wastewater Treatment Plant, or if heavy rains cause their flushes to become a part of the 586 million gallons of raw sewage poured into Newtown Creek annually, or the 1.43 billion gallons dumped into the waters off of Astoria every year. It's also the perfect complement to this map of New York City public toilets. more ›

Here's a way to find out if your neighborhood is kid-friendly. The website PlayaroundNYC has assembled a map charting the locations of playgrounds and their distances from major and minor truck routes. The areas that are darker in color have greater access to playgrounds that aren't surrounded by truck routes than the areas that are lighter in color. Though the map doesn't account for other variables impacting playground quality — like quality of play equipment, population density, or the availability of park restrooms — it's an interesting way to see how different parts of the city cater to children. According to the folks responsible for the map, "[i]t's unfortunate that the easiest locations to place playgrounds are on land left over from major highway construction rather than locations that are more appropriate for supporting young New Yorkers." more ›

Website Very Small Array put together this funny map of apartments described in Craigslist ads as being located in Williamsburg or East Williamsburg. The result, heh, confirms that if real estate brokers had their way, the boundaries of gentrified Hipsterstan would stretch all the way from the fertile blocks of Bushwick to the sleepy lanes of God's Country (northwest Greenpoint). Watch your back, Queens, only toxic Newtown Creek and that narrow pedestrian/bike path on the Pulaski Bridge can save you from Williamsburg now! more ›

The mad scientists at the New York Times multimedia department have cooked up another insane mashup: heat maps for the top rentals in each zipcode in a dozen US cities. Some movies, like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" seem to be popular just about everywhere (because let's be honest, who doesn't like Brad Pitt?) while others, like Mad Men and Tyler Perry's Madea Goes To Jail seem to be popular in specific neighborhoods (hint: Tyler Perry is not among the top 50 movies anywhere in Manhattan below 110th Street.) Biggest surprise: Twilight is astoundingly popular in the Bronx and Staten Island! Do you notice any other odd patterns? more ›

The overall unemployment rate in NYC was 10.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009, but the jobless numbers vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, according to a distressing, if unsurprising, new study by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a liberal research group. For example, overall unemployment was 5.1% on Manhattan's Upper East and West Sides, compared to 15.7% in Central Bronx and 19.2% in East New York. FPI also broke down the data by race, finding that blacks rank #1 in the jobless category in almost every part of NYC (except areas of Staten Island and Whitestone, Queens, where info on blacks was "not applicable.") more ›

Here's a linktastic page that includes a pretty map of New Amsterdam circa 1660. It even depicts The Wall, which was dismantled by the Brits in 1699 — we now know that area, of course, as Wall Street, which formed the northern boundary of the New Amsterdam settlement. There's more history of the area back in the day from the folks at Inside the Apple; but we like to revert to the knowledge bestowed upon us by John and John. Ahem: "Even old New York was once New Amsterdam / Why they changed it I can't say / People just liked it better that way." [via our Dutch friend's Twitter] more ›

Where can you afford to live in the city? Here's a visually pleasing way to find out where your paycheck will allow you to live in the five boroughs. According to this map from Envisioning Development, the fat cats are on the Upper East Side, where the median income in 2006 was $178,000. Compare that to the neighboring East Harlem, where the median income that year was $29,200. There are even rent sliders to tell you what you could afford in each neighborhood, and what percentage of that neighborhood's population can afford, say, a one-bedroom for $954. And you can compare all the boroughs as a whole. more ›

Website Ride the City debuted in 2008, integrating Google maps with data about ideal cycling routes. The site enables users to map a bike ride along as many bike paths as possible, or take their chances with the "fastest," most direct route. Tomorrow the site will launch a new version, which will now maintain elevation data for every city and show riders how much climbing to expect from any given route. Ride the City will also allow visitors to create a user profile and save their favorite routes. more ›

This year will be the first year the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade doesn't head down Broadway for its Herald Square finale outside Macy's. Instead, the procession of balloons, floats and performers will head down Seventh and Sixth Avenues, partially due to the new pedestrian plazas in Times Square and partially because 7th and 6th Avenues are wider (in 2005, some parade watchers were struck by M&M; balloons!). more ›

It's that time again—time for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And one of the fun traditions to watching the balloons being blown up the night before. This year's Thanksgiving parade balloon inflation begins tomorrow at 3 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m., with the entrance at West 77th Street and Columbus Avenue. It does get very crowded, so be patient! more ›

Whenever there's a story about the site of the World's Fair you can be certain the words neglected and/or deteriorated will be used. Last year the city was criticized for not better preserving the 130' x 166' terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map at the New York State Pavilion. The winter weather dislodged and even cracked panels after a decision not to protect it was made. more ›

These maps are sort of terrifying, no? The Jodie S. Lane Public Safety Foundation, named for the woman who was electrocuted to death in the East Village five years ago, has created a website that tracks and logs all incidents of stray voltage found by Con ED since January 2004. CityRoom reports that "It maps the location of more than 31,900 objects, like fences, manholes and sidewalks, that have been electrified by stray voltage and 930 shocks of people or pets that have been recorded during that period." more ›

This map-cut of New York City is almost as insane as the skyline being drawn from memory right now. The four paper panels are each 3' x 4' and together show the city blocks, parks and other areas in 4 of the 5 boroughs (sorry Staten Island). It's one-of-a-kind, and the artist is selling it on Etsy for $550 (Paris is only $250). more ›

The foliage is coming! The foliage is coming! And soon everything will look like a happy little burnt-sienna-filled Bob Ross painting. Now that the dog days of summer are officially behind us, we'll get a short burst of brisk fall weather and trees bursting with color (even in the Bronx) before winter freezes us over. Kottke points to a foliage map so you don't miss the leaves turning; you can even become and ambassador and give reports from your location (right now we're still green). more ›

Park(ing) Day is observed tomorrow in New York City and in other cities around the world. The international holiday, which turns boring old asphalt parking spaces into whimsical urban oases, was started back in 2005 by Transportation Alternatives and Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design collective. It became an annual event, and every year the curbside creations have gotten more elaborate and inspired. Last year saw parking spaces transformed into such curiosities as a meditation garden, a geodesic dome, and an urban arbor. more ›

There can never be too many New York City maps, and City Room points out collage artist Michael Albert's latest creation—a print of which costs 50 bucks online, though he generously handed them out for free this past weekend on a corner in downtown Brooklyn. more ›

The city may never sleep, but there are significantly less people in it during the witching hours. This neat illustration shows just how many people commute in for work only to go enjoy their nights in... Jersey? If you look closely you'll also see that Roosevelt Island's population doubles at night; what exactly is going on over there? more ›

Mike Frumin at frumination created this map to illustrate what NYC would look like if there were no NYC subway. Specifically, it would need a lot of parking spaces. He recently wondered, after receiving subway passenger count data, " What would it take in terms of auto facilities to replace the morning rush hour carrying capacity of the NYC subway?" more ›

Looks like lovely weather for the kick-off to the second annual Summer Streets tomorrow! Starting at 7 a.m., the city will temporarily close Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, displacing motor vehicles and welcoming pedestrians, cyclists, joggers, skateboarders and other non-combustion engine participants. Penny farthing, anyone? more ›

Ah summertime: sunkissed skin, sunny days...and a better chance at getting brutally murdered. The NY Times has a story, accompanied by a cheery map, tracking homicides in the city—specifically how their numbers go up along with the temperature. The paper actually calls New York in the summer months a "distinctively lethal place," following their multiyear analysis of murder trends compiled from records dated 2003 to 2008. more ›

There's some curious old text on a building at the corner of Driggs and Broadway in Williamsburg. ScoutingNY spotted the word "Fifth" marked on the Driggs side of the building and the word "Bway" marked on the Broadway side—but where's Fifth? more ›

It may not be easy on the eyes, or even phallic, but this subway map is pleasing in its own way. The creator worked off a spreadsheet with the "annual 'registrations' (i.e. recorded entries) at each station in the NYC subway system going back to the beginning (1905)." From that, he charted out what each station's ridership has been over the years, and voila! Here you can pretty much see when the Karl Fischer condos started going up in Williamsburg. Check out the entire system here. more ›

No map is going to make your commute any easier, but this new Triptrop subway map makes it a lot more vibrant. The creator tells us, "you put in an address in New York and it overlays a map of how long it takes to get anywhere else in the city via subway and walking," and you can even compare two different starting points. We suggest looking at it from the satellite view, which is oh-so-pretty. more ›

Listen up bookworms, if you haven't purchased a Kindle yet and are interested in picking up some real books, there's a walking tour just for you. Two years ago, The Millions compiled a map for an NYC Indie Bookstore jaunt, and they've just announced a new, improved, updated and expanded one. Organizers say, "It would be belaboring the obvious to say the last two years have been tough times for the bookmen and bookwomen. And yet, despite the vagaries of the business, independent bookstores continue to open, and to serve as hubs for communities real and imagined." Of course, many shops have closed down (or moved) as well. Even chains like the Astor Place Barnes & Noble have been forced to shutter over recent years. more ›

This is equal parts terrifying and beautiful, a map depicting 24 hours of the nation's flight patterns (two million planes pass through New York's airspace each year). This Google map shows roughly 205,000 aircraft the FAA tracked on August 12th, 2008—with darker colors indicating a higher altitude and lighter lines showing takeoffs and landings. more ›

You've only got one more day to find a valentine, and Steph Goralnick just made it much easier! She says she designed a set of valentine cards to sell "but then decided that since the economy is in a state of such deep suckage I would spread a little sweetness and give them all away for free." Originally 22 packets were scattered about Williamsburg, but they're quickly being picked up. Here's a heart-shaped map to help you find what's left: more ›