Introduction

Data is the engine that powers New York City, from inspecting buildings to monitoring traffic, from coordinating volunteer efforts to improving access to green spaces. Data can also help New Yorkers understand what their government is doing for them, and to hold it accountable for its performance. This foundational belief in the power of data to create opportunity and transparency led to the passage of the Open Data Law more than ten years ago.

New York City’s Open Data program is a worldwide leader, making a treasure trove of City data accessible to interested residents and non-residents alike. City staff use Open Data to power their analytics work and identify opportunities to collaborate across agencies. Researchers use Open Data to find patterns and generate insights. Most importantly, any New Yorker can use this data to learn more about their communities and services available to them.

Each year, the Open Data Team reviews submissions from agencies across the City to complete the annual plan of new datasets to be published. The annual compliance process isn’t the end of their work: through initiatives like Open Data Week and the Open Data Ambassadors program, the Open Data Team is working year-round to connect New Yorkers with the data literacy skills and inspiration to answer questions with Open Data. This year, the team began to do that work together under one roof for the first time at the new Office of Technology and Innovation. This consolidation has allowed the team to work with greater efficiency and a more unified purpose of making Open Data more accessible to New Yorkers.

We hope that the new datasets and initiatives highlighted in this report can inspire you to explore New York City’s Open Data!

Sincerely,

The NYC Open Data Team


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