Results tagged “map”

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!).

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!

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.

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."

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).

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).

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.

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.

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?

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?"

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Last we checked in on the World's Fair site, the 130' x 166' terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map, created in the mid-60s by architect Philip Johnson, was in "advanced disrepair." So much so that the Queens Museum of Art revisited the map in its original glory, as well as the present-day plans to protect it (the Parks Department and UPenn's Historic Preservation program had been working to restore some of the map).

For those of you who CAN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT knowing there are thousands and thousands of bodegas throughout New York City WITHOUT AN INTERNET PRESENCE, forced to do business in utter obscurity, take heart: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. The situation is driving one Jeff Sisson crazy too, and he's calling on all New Yorkers to join him in his quest to provide every cramped little grocery in town with its own website, to be organized alphabetically with maps and addresses in a massive index on his Bodega List website, like an OCD Social Register for plebes. Whatever keeps 'em off the streets.

View Larger Map

The Birthplace of Hip Hop, 1520 Sedgwick, was recently sold to a new owner (a developer), leaving its future more questionable than ever. Luckily, folks are preserving the history of the area in any way they can, most recently Bronx Rhymes launched, which is a multi-media installation by digital artists Claudia Bernett and Maria Ioveva that "celebrates Hip Hop's innovative artistry, inspirational impact and community contributions. It highlights now legendary locations and milestones through a guerilla graphics campaign in the borough where it all began."

'Tis the time of year when NORAD, the "bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada," turns its attention to tracking a certain visitor from the North Pole. The NORAD Tracks Santa website features a map showing where Santa has gone and NORAD also has an explanation of how Santa can work the way he does:

The fact that Santa Claus is more than 16 centuries old, yet does not appear to age, is our biggest clue that he does not work within time as we know it. His Christmas Eve trip may seem to take around 24 hours, but to Santa it may last days, weeks or even months in standard time. Santa would not want to rush the important job of distributing presents to children and spreading Christmas happiness everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa functions within a different time-space continuum than the rest of us do.

The gnerds at Google Earth Blog point us to a bumper crop of new additions to Google's 3D version of New York City. This blogger's discovery is best read aloud in your most nasally, emphatic voice: "This is a HUGE update with at least hundreds (if not thousands) of new 3D buildings with photo textures applied. Basically, Google has completed nearly every building in Manhattan Island for Google Earth. Just fly to New York City and turn on the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth... This is the largest city I've seen done with photo-realistic textures to date.

Drivers, it's the last Friday in November—do you know where your car is? The day after Thanksgiving was the most-ticketed day of the last fiscal year, according to an extensive analysis of parking tickets conducted by the Times. The study concluded that parking tickets issued citywide have surged 42 percent since Mayor Bloomberg took office. During the last fiscal year, the city raked in $624 million in parking fines, which is more than the city spends to run the entire Department of Transportation. Officials, maintaining a straight face, insist the parking enforcement is not driven by revenue goals.

The New School's Center for New York City Affairs issued a troubling report finding that "more than 90,000 children in grades K through 5 (more than 20 percent of enrollment) missed at least one month of school." And, "In high poverty neighborhoods, the number was far higher, approaching one-third of primary grade students." You can read the whole report here--PDF--but here's an excerpt from the executive summary:

There are many reasons for high rates of chronic early-grade absenteeism: health issues such as asthma, transportation problems (particularly for children with disabilities), and dislocations caused by eviction or traveling between homeless shelters. There are issues of family instability, such as a mother’s depression or illness. Absences are also associated with cultural issues such as language barriers, and with problematic family priorities, including extended family vacations during the school year. The schools themselves bear a responsibility for attendance, both in their attention to the issue and in their efforts to create welcoming places where children want to be and that parents respect and value.

Continue reading "Map of the Day: Chronic Absenteeism in City Schools"

Along with the office of the Welsh government, Peter Thabit Jones and Dylan Thomas's daughter Aeronwy have compiled the ultimate guide to the poet's New York--specifically Greenwich Village. The walking tour is self-guided, and they provide a handy printable PDF with factoids for your journey. Aeronwy states that it makes "the real facts about my father’s time in New York available to anyone who wants to learn more about him."

View Larger Map

Google might have some geniuses at their desks, but the MTA is likely to somehow foil their goal of accuracy on their Transit maps. You may recall that earlier this year the company hadn't quite figured out the city's public transit system, but word is that this week they'll be announcing that their Transit option is now NYC-friendly, with full maps integration and a partnership with MTA (the feature has actually launched already).