Idlewyld

Square Technology in New York City Taxis

nycdigital:

Today is the official launch date for Square technology in New York City taxis. Read more about the program here.

permalink 14 notes NYC New York City Technology Innovation Business Square NYC Taxis Taxis Transportation

laughingsquid:

Arts for Transit, App for Finding Public Art on NYC Subway System

Just downloaded. Is awesome.

permalink 98 notes Apps Art New York City NYC Transportation

$capitalnewyork: meredithmo: Don’t know what these are called but they’re all over the streets of SoHo. And apparently one corner in Tribeca. (Taken with Instagram at Tribeca, NYC) They’re called Sidewalk Vault Lights (via Preservapedia!): Beginning in the 1850s, sidewalk vault lights became a common feature amidst the burgeoning manufacturing districts of America’s urban streetscapes. These cast-iron panels, fitted with clear glass lenses, were set into the sidewalk in front of building storefronts. They permitted daylight to reach otherwise dark basements (or “vaults”) that extended out beneath the sidewalks, creating more useable or rentable space for building owners. Vault lights typically extended four to five feet out from the building line toward the curb. Each panel was screwed to a cast-iron saddle and the iron framework that spanned the basement vault. They were cast with molded iron knobs set around each lens to protect the glass and improve the footing of passers-by. Originally simple glass lenses were set in the panels, usually with a cement grout. Advances in daylighting technology including the development of prismatic glass pendants that refracted the sun’s rays further into basement areas, and the use of reinforced concrete panels made vault lights popular through the 1930s. Here’s a photo of those guys in Tribeca. Also, here is a fascinating article about what’s underneath our feet as we walk these aging New York sidewalls, and some of the engineering challenges there.$
capitalnewyork:

meredithmo:

Don’t know what these are called but they’re all over the streets of SoHo. And apparently one corner in Tribeca. (Taken with Instagram at Tribeca, NYC)

They’re called Sidewalk Vault Lights (via Preservapedia!):

Beginning in the 1850s, sidewalk vault lights became a common feature amidst the burgeoning manufacturing districts of America’s urban streetscapes. These cast-iron panels, fitted with clear glass lenses, were set into the sidewalk in front of building storefronts. They permitted daylight to reach otherwise dark basements (or “vaults”) that extended out beneath the sidewalks, creating more useable or rentable space for building owners.

Vault lights typically extended four to five feet out from the building line toward the curb. Each panel was screwed to a cast-iron saddle and the iron framework that spanned the basement vault. They were cast with molded iron knobs set around each lens to protect the glass and improve the footing of passers-by. Originally simple glass lenses were set in the panels, usually with a cement grout. Advances in daylighting technology including the development of prismatic glass pendants that refracted the sun’s rays further into basement areas, and the use of reinforced concrete panels made vault lights popular through the 1930s.

Here’s a photo of those guys in Tribeca.

Also, here is a fascinating article about what’s underneath our feet as we walk these aging New York sidewalls, and some of the engineering challenges there.

permalink 31 notes history infrastructure NYC

nycdigital:

Density of Foursquare Check-Ins in New York City

Source: Columbia University’s Spatial Information Lab

permalink 184 notes Check-Ins Columbia University Foursquare Spatial Information Lab NYC New York City

apoplecticskeptic:

newsweek:

nickturse:

New York City’s Lost Subways: A Ghost System Beneath the Streets

The New York City subway system has 842 miles of track, but WNYC reveals “there’s even more to it than riders see: dozens of tunnels and platforms that were either abandoned or were built but never used.” This ghost system beneath the streets “reveals how the city’s transit ambitions have been both realized and thwarted.”

Oh I love this so much.

Me, too.

permalink 658 notes maps cartography NYC