The Bushwick Community Map
Ziggy Mintz & Chris Henrick
Who we are:
ZIGGY tech-inclined community-member with a urban planning degree. The project got me into programming!
Who we are:
CHRIS got involved while pursuing an MFA Design & Technology at Parsons School of Design
Topics we will Cover
What do we mean by "Housing Justice???" "housing as a human right" and "people / community over profit"
Bushwick
as a case-study of housing problems in NYC
(and the whole US!) Effects of unfettered real estate speculation: evictions, unaffordable rents, foreclosures, etc.

History


➞ Rheingold Rezoning
➞ NorthWest Bushwick Community Group
The Rheingold rezoning prompted the formation of the NWB group
Goal:
Present Quantitative data in an accessible format Tax Lot data (year built, available FAR) and locations of Building Permits (new buildings, major rennovations)
Goal:
Augment data with narratives eg: Rheingold, 98 Linden / Israel brothers, Colony 1209
Demo
(demo) More loss of industrial zoned land means loss of local manufacturing jobs; explain "available FAR"; job permits; 1209 Dekalb's colonialist language, "new frontier";
Audience:
General Public
as well as
'Housing Activists' Hence the introduction with Odyssey.js and it being a publically facing website
Languages:
Spanish & English Bushwick has a large spanish speaking population.
Evaluation:
Who's using it:
Lawyers & organizers
The map has bolstered NWB's prominence in the political scene
(maps have power) Through making the map, we help to assert our authority on policy issues. After the launch we got invited to more policy/decision-making meetings.
Made possible thanks to:
NYC open data:
MapPLUTO &
Department of Buildings' Jobs (aka work permit applications) Tax Lot shapefile data; work permit applications
Ziggy & the North West Bushwick Community Group idealization of the project & initial work getting a working prototype up and running despite the hurdles!
A dedicated team of @MFADT grad students Demonstrates how students can be a resource to community groups, non-profits, etc. while also gaining hands on learning
Technologies Used:
jQuery
Leaflet.js
Cartodb.js
Oddessy.js
PostgreSQL
 Lots of javascript! Scripted data processing via postgres
What's next?
➞ More narratives / qualitative data survey data & photos; potentially developing an app...
➞ Data updates Map PLUTO, DOB permits, survey photos
➞ Launch event
The Code
is on Github
(fyi)
Topics We Covered
Contact:
@chrislhenrick
mintzmichaels@gmail.com
Thank you!