DIY New York City

DIYcity folks,

Work with us to take our Placemaking processes and tools online. After the imminent re-launch of our website, we are looking at developing web 2.0 and 3.0 applications to support community-driven, place-based planning efforts.

The Job Description:
http://www.pps.org/info/aboutpps/jobopenings

Ethan

Ethan Kent
Vice President

Project for Public Spaces
700 Broadway New York, NY 10003
T (212) 620-5660 x 318 F (212) 620-3821
http://www.pps.org

Hey there DIY New York City - Appify, our new site about discovering local smartphone apps, has a section for New York City going live tomorrow.

This means anyone coming to Appify will be able to easily see the NYC-related apps that have been entered into the system and download them.

If you have a NYC-focused app, be sure to submit it now, so we can get as many apps visible as possible tomorrow.

If you have friends who have a NYC-focused app, tell them to submit their app, too.

The section going live is going to be very basic compared to what the eventual city section will be like, but we want to start rolling out city pages now, to start making apps more visible to people.

Also, if you have an app entered in the Big Apps competition, we're going to make it easy for you to direct people to vote on your app.

In case you missed last week's announcement about Appify and what it is, you can read it here. We also got a nice shout-out on ReadWriteWeb here.

Enter your app now so it can be seen tomorrow!

Dear DIY NYC:

The Open Planning Project and the Regional Plan Association would like to invite you to an upcoming workshop to brainstorm new technology for participatory city planning.

When: Friday, November 13th, 12:30 - 5:30pm (followed by a happy hour on our roof).

Where: The Open Planning Project, 148 Lafayette St, NY, NY

What: An afternoon of discussion, brainstorming, and collaborative product designing.

RSVP: http://planningtechworkshop.eventbrite.com/ (please RSVP soon, attendance is limited)

Why:

Everyday social computing, mobile technology, and the adoption of "web 2.0" approaches by governments have laid the groundwork for far wider citizen involvement in civic life. Citizens can now be involved earlier on, more frequently, and in more meaningful ways than was ever possible before. How can these opportunities be leveraged for use in the city planning space? What are the technologies that will make this possible? What are the bureaucratic, logistical, or social issues that need to be addressed in considering these ideas? What tools could we build -- today -- that would be the most impactful?

The Open Planning Project is interested in developing free, open source tools to support citizen engagement in planning. To that end, we are reaching out to the planning, government, nonprofit, citizen and tech communities to help us explore opportunities and share ideas. This event should be the first of many, and will be a hands-on workshop aiming to bring together many diverse perspectives.

How:

The workshop will follow the "unconference," or "BarCamp," format, where sessions and talks are proposed and led by the participants of the workshop. Please visit the workshop wiki at http://etherpad.com/GfjsHfnoGi to see the agenda, an overview of the format, and a list of proposed talks & sessions. Please feel free to add your ideas directly to the wiki -- we'll also be reaching out to attendees in advance to prepare some talks & sessions.

Pass it along:

Lastly, if you know of someone who should be invited to this event, please pass on this invitation. Attendance will be capped at 70 people, on a first-come, first-served basis, and we're hoping for a mix of sectors and perspectives. Please RSVP at http://planningtechworkshop.eventbrite.com/ We realize this is short notice, so we hope you are able to make it.

Thanks, and we're looking forward to seeing you on the 13th.

Sincerely,

Nick Grossman

--
Nick Grossman
Director, TOPP Labs
The Open Planning Project - http://openplans.org
@nickgrossman

ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature.
By Nate Anderson | Last updated October 27, 2009

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/10/want-50mbps-internet-in-...

Open311 intends to be a standard specification to create an open
platform for municipal service requests. More information at
http://www.open311.org

Announcing Open311 DevCamp 
(http://open311.org/2009/09/announcing-open311-devcamp/)

On October 24th, The Open Planning Project will host Open311 DevCamp at
their NYC office. Please register to attend via Eventbrite (it’s free).
This is a DevCamp style un-conference to coordinate a standard
specification for 311 services. Washington D.C’s 311 API will be a
major case-study for developing a more universal 311 API. In general,
this DevCamp will be an opportunity to discuss and develop what’s
needed to make 311 services more accessible and for cities to share
knowledge for mutual benefit. The event is intended for developers,
project managers, and policy makers involved with 311 services. We
encourage those involved with 311 services from all cities to take
part. If you cannot attend in person, please sign up as a remote
attendee and we’ll provide you with information about how to connect to
the DevCamp remotely.

Please register at http://open311.eventbrite.com
The wiki page for the event is http://wiki.open311.org/Open311DevCamp

If you have feedback or questions, please add them to the comments on
http://open311.org/2009/09/announcing-open311-devcamp/ or reply to this
thread.

I hope to see you there!
Phil

(apologies if you received this multiple times, it was cross posted to
several lists)

--

Philip Ashlock
The Open Planning Project - http://www.openplans.org
phil@openplans.org | @philipashlock | (360)
389-2741

Wanted to make sure everyone sees today's NY Times article on the MTA slowly starting to open up access to data:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/nyregion/28mta.html?ref=nyregion&pagew...

It's very good. Compare this quote from the MTA:

“It’s clearly an emerging area, and we’re going to keep trying to evolve to keep up with it,” said Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the authority.

to this quote from Portland:

“I look at it as a huge value for us,” said Carolyn Young, who oversees technology at TriMet. “We don’t have the resources in a small city compared to New York to have a bunch of developers making all this stuff. With the third-party applications, we’re getting work that we don’t have staff to do.”

The difference in attitude is striking. However, things are moving in the right direction! I'm sure that Nicholas' MTA summit was a big help in moving this process forward. Was this reporter there?

For those interested http://fixmta.org

It's been two years since this release from Transit Wireless about installing wireless technology into subway stations
http://transitwireless.com/press-times.htm

Anyone aware of the status of the wireless access points in the subway stations? I was at 23rd & 8th Ave today and I was able to send a txt message from underground.

NYC Primary Election - Tuesday, September 15th 6am - 9pm
link to this info via http://ideas.topplabs.org/wiki/2009_NYC_Primary_Election
or http://bit.ly/NYCprimary09

Voter guide:
http://www.nyccfb.info/public/voter-guide/primary_2009

To look up your candidates for the general election:
http://pvoter.thor.openplans.org (this website will
soon be renamed and moved to whoismygov.org. It's a TOPP project that
was used for http://tacandidatesurvey.org)

To locate your polling site:
http://gis.nyc.gov/vote/ps/index.htm

To look up your voter registration info:
https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/

You can also call the board of elections at 1-866-VOTE-NYC

--

Philip Ashlock
The Open Planning Project - http://www.openplans.org
phil(AT)openplans.org
(360) 389-2741

Dear friends,

We (the The Open Planning Project) are planning a summit on the future of=
New
York City public transportation schedule data, with beer. Please see our =
blog
post for more details:

http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2009/08/new-york-public-transit-data-sum...
it-with-beer/

WHERE: 148 Lafayette St, NY, New York, 12th floor
WHEN: Tuesday, August 25 at 6pm
WHAT: Meetup to discuss how the MTA and the developer community can best =
collaborate.
RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/New-York-Public-Transit-Data-Summit/

Please come join us for pizza, beer, and a friendly discussion. There's a=
lso a
stunning view of the city we all love.

Thanks,
-Nicholas

P.S. I've cross-posted this to a few relevant mailing lists. My apologize=
s if
you receive this message twice.

--
Software Engineer
The Open Planning Project
www.openplans.org

I had to do it, after all the work I put into helping them understand the value of an open ecosystem, and now they are strong-arming developers.

"NY MTA The Latest Public Transportation Group To Declare It Owns Facts"
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090814/0354395880.shtml

Cyclists, buses, cars and even pedestrians will become mobile
pollution detectors in an initiative launched on Tuesday.
Led by Imperial College London, the project will trial three types of
mobile, wireless pollution sensor.
These will measure traffic pollutants throughout the UK, and transmit
their data via the mobile phone network.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8126498.stm

+ ----------------------------------------------------------------- +
| Jason Liszkiewicz |
| Executive Director (NYC): |
| Earth Intelligence Network 501(c)3 |
| Public Intelligence in the Public Interest |
| http://www.earth-intelligence.net |
| http://twitter.com/earthintelnet |
| http://www.youtube.com/earthintelnet |
| Exploring.Collecting.Connecting. |
+ ------------------------------------------------------------------+

Free Resources Updated Monthly:
CyberScout/Mobile Citizen Intel Link-Tables = http://tr.im/irCi

Free Books:
Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace =
http://tr.im/jo9S
Election 2008: Lipstick on the Pig = http://tr.im/jo9Y

Innovative Concepts for Now or Never:
http://re-configure.org

Hi all,

Come join us for a meetup to solicit ideas, interest, participants and planners in the upcoming Breakout! Festival on July 1 at 6:45pm at New Work City (200 Varick Street, Suite 507b).

This summer the BREAKOUT! Festival will return creative work to the
streets of New York. Using coworking as a model, and injecting
lightweight versions of essential office infrastructure into urban
public spaces, BREAKOUT! will explore new and productive niches for
working outside of traditional office buildings. BREAKOUT! seeks to
create a new architecture for the creative city by appropriating
public spaces for the collaborative knowledge work that drives the
contemporary city.

This meetup gathers together fans, volunteers, and planners interested
in helping make outdoor coworking and the BREAKOUT! Festival a
success.

The Agenda? Discuss:
* the upcoming New York Festival (September 18th - October 30th)
* ideas for facilitating breakout sessions
* cool things needed for breakouts
* how to participate in a breakout
* how to do more

Please RSVP here:
http://www.meetup.com/BreakoutNow/calendar/10729904/

Website: http://www.breakoutfestival.org/

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Elysse

Hey DIY New Yorkers, if you're in the city and you have a free hour at lunchtime today, think about swinging by the discussion on "open data standards" being held by the New York City Council Committee on Technology in Government. Here are the details:

This bill will come before the Technology in Government Committee on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 1:00pm at 250 Broadway, 14th Floor Hearing Room, NY NY 10007.

Meeting should go for 2 hours, or until 3 PM.

Unfortunately I'm way up at Columbus Circle at the Personal Democracy Forum all day, don't think I'm going to be able to make it all the way down there for the meeting. But it sounds like a pretty important one - if you're interested in open data in NYC, please drop by and give them some input.

And if you go, *please* post notes to DIY NYC afterwards.

I've been watching the discussion trying to figure out the DIY City's wavelength.

I think part of what we see emerging on the local (neighborhood) Issues Forums hosted by E-Democracy.Org fit your model of citizen problem-solving. My experience is that at the very very very local level people will pick shovels and do stuff, while up the chain people prefer their tax dollars to do the work so they don't have to be bothered.

On my local neighborhood Issues Forum - http://e-democracy.org/se - we've had people start community garden efforts, ask if people want to do a blood drive and then promote it, suggest and then organize a volunteer lake clean-up (only to run into trouble getting connected to the right person in the parks department for permission), buy flower bulbs in bulk for their homes with some left over for public space, etc. Recently, a mugging at a new local light rail stop generated a flurry of activity: http://blog.e-democracy.org/posts/355

Anyway, since a number of you will be at Participation Camp, I thought I should say hello. If any of you would like to talk neighborhoods online to gather tips from 15 years on the front lines of e-participation, check out the two sessions I'll be leading or virtually note - http://e-democracy.org/if - for an existing Webinar and some links here: http://pages.e-democracy.org/Social_media_in_local_public_life

Cheers,
Steven Clift
http://stevenclift.com - A personal intro
Executive Director, E-Democracy.Org
http://twitter.com/democracy

Hi DIY City,
You can skip the first paragraph I'm sure, but check out what's happening at PCamp with open data.
Best,
Matt

-----

Dear Fans of Transparency and Participation,

In recent weeks, several organizations in New York have taken big steps towards making New York City's public data accessible and useful to software developers. There's still a lot of work to be done, but the end of the story could be a wealth of new ways that citizens will be able to effectively and efficiently participate in the governance of their city. Several of those groups will be getting the ball rolling at this weekend's Participation Camp, an open and free unconference on citizen participation in government.

Register now to reserve your spot and stay up-to-date: http://participationcamp.org

Here's what's happening:
GALE A. BREWER, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

As Chair of the Committee on Technology in Government, Councilmember Brewer recently proposed comprehensive legislation for making New York City’s public data accessible and machine readable. She will host a discussion at Participation Camp on Saturday at 2:30 pm to discuss this legislation and get feedback from the open government community and interested citizens.

The bill, Introduction No. 991, can be read in full here.
OPEN 311 CODE SPRINT

Throughout PCamp, ITP’s workshop space will be open to collaboration on open government Internet applications. On Saturday, we’ll hold a sprint focused on Open 311: an initiative to make municipal data more readily available to programmers who want to make useful applications. Philip Ashlock from The Open Planning Project will help coordinate development of Open 311 related projects in conjunction with Open311.org. Peter Corbett, organizer of Washington D.C.’s ongoing Apps for Democracy Contest, will provide direction and best practices based on D.C.’s Open 311 API. We also encourage contestants of Apps for Democracy to work together at PCamp, as their July 1st deadline approaches. On Sunday, the workshop will remain open for any projects that grow out of Saturday’s efforts and the camp in general.
MARK BELINSKY, OPENMYCITY

Mark serves as director of Digital Democracy, but at PCamp he will lead a session on the OpenMyCity project. The goal of OpenMyCity is to find the best ideas about how to make use of municipal open data by asking citizens and organizations to answer a simple fill-in-the-blank question: “If I knew ___, I could do ___.”

OpenMyCity is backed by a coalition that formed around the Pioneers conference that took place recently in New York and Amsterdam. At PCamp, Mark will lead a workshop to build a plan for capturing as many stories as possible. This effort provides a human component to the technological and legislative efforts already happening around municipal data.

Cityleft has worked together with Travelsharing.netsons.org to develop an open source website for car pooling.

Carpooling (also known as car-sharing, ride-sharing, lift-sharing and covoiturage), is the shared use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers, usually for commuting (Wikipedia).

However Travelsharing.netsons.org extended this approach to other forms of mobility such as biking, hiking, and so on.

The website is still at its beta version. Users should join to the community in order to translate contents in local languages.

To take part to this Travelsharing.netsons.org project visit:
www.Travelsharing.netsons.org

Cityleft

From the Open Gov google group:

from Sam Wong
reply-to open-government@googlegroups.com
date Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 3:02 PM
subject [open-gov] Open Data Standards - New York Council

The New York City Council Committee on Technology in Government will be holding an important hearing on open data standards for all city agencies on June 29th at 250 Broadway (across the street from City Hall). This bill, Introduction 991 (available here: http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Int%200991-2009.htm?CFID=251408...), is an effort to increase government transparency and access to public data.

The bill will require the City to create a centralized online repository of all publicly available information that is either produced or retained by the City. Furthermore, data published under this legislation will be done so in a format that will be readable by any computer device, whether that is a laptop or a phone. Not only will this collection of information be invaluable to elected officials, other government agencies and public advocates, but it can also be used by private citizens who could use the information in ingenious and unforeseen ways. Together, we believe these aspects will create a level of openness and accountability in Government unmatched by any city or State in the country.

This effort is inspired in part by both as an enhancement to processes already taking place within New York, and to parallel President Obama’s initiatives to incorporate open access to data normally not available in centralized databases, such as www.data.gov and www.recovery.gov. Introduction 991 could create a nycdata.gov, creating a new model for access, mobility and interactivity to a wide range of “data” on the local level. Data can be geolinked to already existing CityMap 2.0, a project started by New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) that provides a one-stop shop and user-friendly map to provide a vast array of information for New Yorkers. Just imagine looking a restaurant’s ratings (and violations) on your computer or mobile device based on your search or GPS location. Furthermore, one could access a building’s permits or violations with mobile applications built off of existing Dept. of Buildings data. On the academic side, student researchers can research various legislation and statistics instantly. Open access to information ensures government accountability to provide the most detailed and user-friendly data format, while maintaining user privacy. Furthermore, we are seeking comments from web developers and webmasters on this bill, as they can provide some insight on the process and difficulties we might experience.

This bill will come before the Technology in Government Committee on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 1:00pm at 250 Broadway, 14th Floor Hearing Room, NY NY 10007. Unfortunately, this hearing falls on the same day as Micah Sifry and Andrew Rasiej’s Personal Democracy Forum conference due to some unforeseen scheduling delays during the Council’s budget season. However, we are looking for members of the digital community to join us for 1-2 hours next Monday and help demonstrate support for the benefits of this legislation (The hearing occurs during the PdF Networking Lunch and should not last beyond 3 PM).

Please contact Kunal Malhotra [kmalhotra@council.nyc.gov], Director of Legislation and Budget, or Samuel Wong [samwong.529@gmail.com], Legislative Aide on Technology, if you want to attend the hearing and/or testify at this hearing. Our City Hall office number is (212)
788-6975.

We look forward to your participation.

"The .nyc TLD brings the potential for a "civic media" that will allow residents to identify problems and opportunities while providing the tools to create stronger neighborhoods and a more livable city.

Here we consider the development of that civic media and how it can help neighborhoods better communicate in the coming years. "

http://www.coactivate.org/projects/campaign-for.nyc/traditional-neighbor...

I think they are coordinated with persons from ResistorNYC in some way, at least space-wise, occasionally - http://www.makenyc.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "mattcoop"
To:
Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 6:22 PM
Subject: DIY New York City: 'Announcing Participation Camp - June 27th and
28th - New York City' at DIYcity #post-527.

> Post 'Announcing Participation Camp - June 27th and 28th - New York City'
> by mattcoop
>
> Today we announce a new un-conference focused on creating a truly
> participatory democracy.
>
>
> Participation Camp
>
>
> June 27th and 28th - New York City
>
>
> Learn more and register now at ParticipationCamp.org
>
>
> About Participation Camp
>
>
> Participatory government is a powerful ideal, but changing the system
> will not be easy. In the spirit of Transparency Camp, we're calling on
> open government advocates from all walks - including government
> officials - to come together and share their knowledge and strategies.
> PCamp09 will include featured speakers, participant-driven workshops,
> and hands-on projects.
>
>
> Get Involved Now
>
>
> We're all about participation, and we'd love to have your help making
> PCamp09 even better. We need organizers, volunteers, sponsors, and just
> good ideas. Learn more at ParticipationCamp.org or email us directly at
> participationcamp@gmail.com [4].
>
>
> To continue to receive PCamp09 updates, be sure to subscribe on our
> site, or reply to this email and include the word SUBSCRIBE.
>
>
> More Open Gov Events
>
>
> Wednesday, June 3rd - Summer of Gov Mixer: Join us for wine and cheese,
> followed by a series of presentations on new open gov projects. A good
> way to meet people in the movement and get involved. www.summerofgov.com
> [5]
>
>
> Friday, June 5th - Capitol Camp: Albany throws open its doors for an
> open gov unconference, and invites you to help them improve your state
> goverment. www.capitolcamp.org [6]
>
>
> -----------------------
>
>
> Participation Camp is Sponsored by
> Mudball - Collaboration Media, Community Building - mudball.net
> New Work City - Coworking New York Style - nwcny.com
>
> [4] mailto:participationcamp@gmail.com
> [5] http://www.summerofgov.com
> [6] http://www.capitolcamp.org
>
> Read more: http://diycity.org/node/527
> Post reply: http://diycity.org/comment/reply/527#comment-form, or you can
> post a new post by e-mail: nyc@diycity.org
>
> Note that if you reply to this mail delete the quoted text and do not
> modify the subject field or the message will not reach it's destiny.
> --
> You are subscribed from the group 'DIY New York City' at DIYcity.
> To manage your subscription, visit http://diycity.org/og/manage/17.
>
>

Today we announce a new un-conference focused on creating a truly participatory democracy.

Participation Camp

June 27th and 28th - New York City

Learn more and register now at ParticipationCamp.org

About Participation Camp

Participatory government is a powerful ideal, but changing the system will not be easy. In the spirit of Transparency Camp, we're calling on open government advocates from all walks - including government officials - to come together and share their knowledge and strategies. PCamp09 will include featured speakers, participant-driven workshops, and hands-on projects.

Get Involved Now

We're all about participation, and we'd love to have your help making PCamp09 even better. We need organizers, volunteers, sponsors, and just good ideas. Learn more at ParticipationCamp.org or email us directly at participationcamp@gmail.com.

To continue to receive PCamp09 updates, be sure to subscribe on our site, or reply to this email and include the word SUBSCRIBE.

More Open Gov Events

Wednesday, June 3rd - Summer of Gov Mixer: Join us for wine and cheese, followed by a series of presentations on new open gov projects. A good way to meet people in the movement and get involved. www.summerofgov.com

Friday, June 5th - Capitol Camp: Albany throws open its doors for an open gov unconference, and invites you to help them improve your state goverment. www.capitolcamp.org

-----------------------

Participation Camp is Sponsored by
Mudball - Collaboration Media, Community Building - mudball.net
New Work City - Coworking New York Style - nwcny.com

A few weeks ago we had a discussion about creating an Open 311 System for New York City. Based on that conversation, I wrote up a short letter to Mayor Bloomberg, which I just faxed to him this morning. The letter is also being delivered via a few other channels, to ensure a better chance of reception.

Here is the letter I sent him, the result of everyone's conversation here on the site.

The second section, "What Can Be Built on an Open 311 System" is a bit brief due to space limitations. If anyone wants to add ideas in the comments below as to other things that could be done with an Open 311, that would be a great addition to the document.

-------

John Geraci
20 Jay St, Ste 1019
Brooklyn, NY 11201

May 28, 2009

Re: An Open 311 System for the City of New York

The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor of New York City
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

Under your leadership, the City's 311 System has grown into an invaluable civic service that has accumulated vast amounts of actionable data about all kinds of topics residents of New York City care deeply about. Now is the time to transform 311 into a tool of even greater value, for use by elected officials, policy makers, local leaders, and everyday New Yorkers by allowing any and all software developers to freely access, work with and build web applications based on the data contained in the system. Such a transformation can be realized by implementing a simple Open 311 System for the City of New York.

The vision for Open 311 is a system which would allow the public to build applications that will transform the City's 311 data into all kinds of useful tools and information flows that can be used by government officials and citizens alike. We see Open 311 as the next frontier of transparency, accountability and civic engagement between local government and citizens. With a new political attitude toward openness at the federal level and a large creative class of technologically savvy City residents, your administration is poised to lead the country in this effort at the local level. Below is a brief description of Open 311, examples of what could be created and a description of some of the benefits of Open 311.

What is Open 311

“Open 311” is the term given to providing open, free API access to the City’s existing 311 System.

An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a web protocol that gives programmers anywhere access to data on a web server in order to build custom applications using that data. Businesses that operate on the web commonly use APIs to facilitate and encourage interaction with their core data. By allowing anyone to build applications that make use of their data, they increase the number of ways in which the public can access that data. By doing this, they increase the number of people who actually use that data, as well as the variety of situations in which they will do so. And by encouraging more people to use their data, in more situations, they make that data more valuable – both to themselves and to the public at large.

Open 311 applies this same principle to the City’s non-emergency interface for municipal services. In essence, an Open 311 API will allow third party users to write web applications that do two things remotely and programmatically: 1) get all service requests from the 311 system, or some specified subset of service requests and 2) submit new service requests to the 311 system.

Such an API will have the effect of opening the current 311 service to all who wish to build on top of it, turning 311 from a closed system to an open platform, able to be extended and improved upon by others in whatever way they see fit. This extension and improvement, and the increase in public interaction with the 311 data that will result from it, are core to the vision of an Open 311 System and the value it could provide for the City of New York.

What Can Be Built on an Open 311 System - Some Examples

The number of useful, innovative applications that could be built with an Open 311 System in New York City is practically endless, limited only by the imagination of the public and the online tools they have to work with. Some examples of possible tools built on top of an Open 311 API include:

• A mapping system that allows anyone to see at a glance where the current live issues are, broken down by neighborhood, topic, date of submission, or any other criteria. Such a system would be useful for City officials and the public alike, for easily identifying problem clusters, seeing whether a particular issue has already been reported, seeing what issues are current in your neighborhood, and numerous other uses.
• An early warning system that allows anyone to see, in real time, what issues people are reporting to 311 in aggregate. Such a system could be invaluable to City officials to identify hot issues and potential emergencies within the City as they arise, so as to be able to respond to them more immediately.
• An email alert, update and comment system that allows anyone to track a particular issue and give input on it. Such a system could allow for residents to update City agencies on the current status of a particular issue, allow them to be notified when an issue has been resolved, or even potentially allow residents to organize locally to address and solve particular issues.
• A smart phone application that allows anyone to easily report new issues to 311 with their device’s camera and GPS system, creating automatically mapped and photographed issues that are better documented and hence easier for the city to investigate and resolve.

These applications would be developed entirely by third parties working independently from the city, for their own purposes. As such, they would not require oversight or input from the city to develop or maintain.

Benefits of an Open 311 System to the City of New York

The benefits of such an open platform are several:

• Cost. Creating an Open 311 system is quite simply the most cost-effective way for the city to improve on its existing 311 system, because it transfers the costs of these improvements to third party entities seeking to build on top of the 311 platform. Opening up an API to the city's 311 system allows improvements to be continually made to the system at no additional expense to the city.
• Ease. Creating an Open 311 system is a much simpler move, from the city's perspective, than the "hand held 311" currently proposed by Speaker Quinn. Rather than contracting to create a 311 system that works on all mobile devices and platforms, the city need simply open an API, and allow interested developers to do this for them.
• Expertise. An Open 311 API will tap directly into the widest-possible pool (i.e. the public pool) of experts in the domains of data processing, mapping, GIS, and social software, allowing them to collaborate and/or compete to build the best possible tools. The result is the best possible applications built on top of the city's 311 system.
• Innovation. As always, whenever a system is opened up for all to build on however they see fit, innovations occur which nobody had foreseen. Sometimes these unplanned innovations turn out to be the most valuable to the system's users. An Open 311 API would allow the city to benefit from this kind of open market innovation.
• Leading the Way. Open 311 is the way of the future for cities everywhere. Currently only Washington D.C. has an open 311 system in production, and Toronto is discussing it. New York City has an opportunity with Open 311 to play a leading role on the world stage, adopting and promoting this new way of allowing residents to interact with city agencies.

Meeting with DIYcity

DIYcity is a community of technologically adept urbanists focused on improving cities around the world. The group has over 600 members globally, with 150 in New York City. I speak on behalf of the members of DIYcity when I say we have teams of people ready, willing and able to assist the City with this effort--and to ensure its success once Open 311 is launched. With this in mind, I am asking for the opportunity to have a small group of DIYCity representatives meet with key members of your staff to discuss the possibilities and practical applications that Open 311 would generate. By adopting and promoting an Open 311 system now, the City can bring 311 into a new and exponentially more productive era, continuing to offer its residents leading-edge service at little additional cost above the current system.

Please have your staff contact me to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

John Geraci
Founder of DIYcity
Brooklyn, New York

More Information

This document is the result of an ongoing discussion held on DIYcity.org about creating an Open 311 for New York City. For more details on Open 311 and the possibilities and benefits it offers, refer to the discussion, here: http://diycity.org/discussions/calling-open-311-nyc.

Contributors to this document include: John Geraci, Anthony Townsend, Paul Watson, Marissa Gregory, Geddes Munson, Antti Poikola, Liz Barry, Jason Liszkiewicz, Dmitry Kachaev and Nick Grossman.

Sometimes, being virtually connected isn't enough. Sometimes you have to show up in meatspace. Digital democracy fans, your presence is invited/welcomed/needed tomorrow Thursday May 7, 11:15am, downtown Manhattan at 250 Broadway, 14th Floor Hearing Room or up in Albany at The Capitol Building, Room 328, for the launch of the new New York State Senate website, nysenate.gov.

Here's the announcement, from their communications folks:

Welcome to YOUR New York SENATE web site.

Though we live in the 21st century, most government bodies remain stuck in the technological dark ages.

Under the leadership and vision of Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, the New York State Senate is undertaking a series of reforms that will change the way New York State government operates. The goal of these reforms is to return government to the people of New York--Democrats and Republicans, Upstaters and Downstaters alike. Rules reform was the first step of many reform measures we are taking.

As a key milestone in this process, the new New York State Senate website, NYSENATE.GOV, will provide the technological underpinning of a new Senate dedicated to serving New Yorkers more effectively and openly.

We invite you to a special press conference to learn about the new website and the many other innovations the New York State Senate is undertaking by leveraging the latest communications technology. The presentation will include a walk-through of the website followed by a hands-on Q&A session.

The New York State Senate's new Twitter and Facebook accounts will also formally launch that same day. Follow @NYSenate for updates.

Remote Participation:

A live stream of the press conference will also be available on
http://www.nysenate.gov. Questions sent to @NYSenate via Twitter will be included in the live Q&A session.
==================
Full disclosure: Along with Andrew Rasiej, I've been consulting with the NY Senate staff on this project.
Micah Sifry

Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures has a good piece on his blog today about creating an open 311 by using what he calls "the public channel". Fred's idea for an open 311 is pretty much inline with the central premise of DIYcity (and Fred gives a nice shout-out to us in the post), and I think it mirrors the way we on this site would do it, if it was up to us.

I've been meaning to write up a 1-pager on the idea of an open 311, which a friend to DIYcity has offered to give to Bloomberg's staff (he thinks Bloomberg would be very friendly to the idea). I just haven't had time, if you can believe it. And I feel like it's an opportunity that is slipping away. So, in best crowdsourcing fashion, I'm turning it over to the crowd here on DIYcity. Can people collectively come up with ideas on an open 311 for NYC? What would it look like? What would be the advantages of it? How would it make the city better? How would it make life easier/cheaper/better for the government?

Let's have an open discussion on this today, then boil it down and present that as a 1-pager. Names will be named, so if you contribute your ideas, they'll go into any final document that gets presented.

Hi All,

Open Gov NYC is running a workshop on collaborative policy building:

http://iyear.us/2009/04/21/anyone-can-be-a-wonk/

It's process-focused for now, but will hopefully lead to application development in the future.

-Matt

For those of you in NYC this weekend, there's an exciting unconference
on Saturday covering Everything Open - http://nyc.openeverything.us/

Currently it looks like the best place to suggest topics to
organize around is on the wiki at:
http://openeverything.wik.is/New_York/New_York_City/Suggested_Topics

For example, I suggested a few of the ideas/projects I'm interested in
that have been coming out of TOPP and related NYC groups lately:

• A well documented review of nyc.gov citing specific needed
  improvements for more open data
• Planning for an nyc based open
  government policy sprint and hackathon
• Data.gov for cities - http://ideas.topplabs.org/wiki/Data.gov_for_Cities
• A Q/A survey web app for candidates and elected officials -  http://ideas.topplabs.org/wiki/Elected_official_and_candidate_survey_site
• A local (or global) Who is my government? lookup - http://ideas.topplabs.org/wiki/Who_is_my_government%3F
• Real Time Bus Tracker (currently focused on MTA buses) - http://ideas.topplabs.org/wiki/Real_Time_Bus_Tracker
• A Geo Mobile Issue Tracker to report issues, eg documenting
  needed improvements in a city - http://ideas.topplabs.org/wiki/Geo-mobile_Issue_Tracker

Note: this was BCC cross posted to several lists:
sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com
civichacker@lists.topplabs.org
nyc@diycity.org
open-government-nyc@googlegroups.com

hey all,
i came across this event scheduled for Saturday the 18th of April.
http://nyc.openeverything.us/
I haven't met the people involved, but here's an except from their main site http://openeverything.net :

Open Everything is a global conversation about the art, science and spirit of 'open'. It gathers people using openness to create and improve software, education, media, philanthropy, architecture, neighbourhoods, workplaces and the society we live in: everything. It's about thinking, doing and being open.
Open Everything was started by a few people back in the beginning of 2008, and it has grown to include events in cities around the world. New York is going to be the next and we'd be delighted if you would participate.

I'll probably stop by to check it out.
--liz

Got this in my inbox the other day in response to a proposal on an open 311 system sent to Speaker Quinn. What are the chances they'll do something really open here?

Dear Mr. Geraci,

Thanks so much for your interest in our newly proposed 311 mobile application.

Right now, we're still working out the details for this new tool with the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT).

We're very excited about this new opportunity, and I'll be sure to keep your contact information on file as our discussions with DoITT move forward.

Thanks again for writing.

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn

Speaker

Hey there DIY New York - wanted to post a link to SickCity in NYC for those of you who aren't tuned in to the Discussions Group or Main Group.

See SickCityNYC here: http://sickcity.org/USA/New%20York

Looks like flu mentions have been steadily on the decline for a couple weeks now. Phew.

SickCity is in rapid evolution right now, getting better day by day. If you have suggestions for how to improve it, post them to the site.

More apps coming for NYC!

From the Daily News:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants to "eliminate the middleman" of the city's 311 phone system and let callers access city information directly from their hand-held devices.

"You look around New York on the subway, on the ferry, you see almost everybody with some kind of hand-held device, an iPhone, a BlackBerry," Quinn said Sunday.

While any of these people could dial 311 to get an address for the nearest firehouse or library, Quinn said the city should devise a way to let them download that information from the database the 311 operators use.

Bloomberg calls it "a brilliant idea".

Article here: http://bit.ly/HkSv7

Last year a few of us here at The Open Planning Project built BlockPartyNYC.org. This project was done for Transportation Alternatives, mainly to promote their party sponsorship program. A sponsored block party received consulting on solutions to community problems like traffic, speeding, and noise and air pollution.

For this year of block parties in NYC, we have plans to make BlockPartyNYC the main hub for all 3000 NYC parties. We plan on receiving data feeds from Community Boards as they approve block parties and, in turn, advertising relevant parties on Community Board sites. We plan on having more advanced mapping, facebook integration, and other features. See the full specification.

If you're a developer out there and would like to help out please get in touch by emailing blockpartynyc-discussion@lists.openplans.org. It's a fully open source project built in pylons and can be reused for other events. For example, last year we also used the software for ParkingDayNYC.org. Thanks and stay tuned.

Well, its official. The NYC Transit has abandoned its effort to do real-time bus tracking for the second time.

Can we come up with a DIY solution that tries to address this?

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/93085/mta-pulls-the-plug-on-bus-t...

Hey NYers - I want to compile a list of projects using NYC MTA data out there.

There are Twittered service alerts, there's the Metro-North iPhone app. Is there anything else out there? Big or small? Betas? Student projects? Hacks?

If you know of something, please send it in. Can send on-list or off. (if off, send to "geraci" at "g" "mail" "dot" "com").

Thx

Hi all,

Been following the DIYCity conversations for a while and am psyched to see where this is going. Very bummed that I was out of town for the meetup.

Wanted to send something along that might be of interest to DIY folks, the Times (my employer) is putting together a day to talk about what we're doing with APIs and search, called Times Open. I hope to see some of you there and talk more about what we're hoping to do in the local space, particularly around crime and transportation issues. (Also note two key words in the description "free" and "cocktails.")

Hit me back with any questions or thoughts about the event or just what we're up to in general and look forward to meeting some of you at the next meetup.

Something like what the Crime group was talking about last night:

"Lethal (click opens iTunes) from Elany Arts takes a location from
either the iPhone's built-in location services or a list of 300 cities
or parks throughout the USA, then provides you with a "lethal index"
number. This number ranges between 0 and 400, with 400 being an
extremely dangerous location."

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/01/15/a-lethal-app-for-your-iphone/

Hey all,

There's been a last-minute venue change for this Wednesday's meetup. No longer at the TOPP offices, it is now at the offices of Project for Public Spaces, which is at 700 Broadway, 4th floor. That's just north of 4th St.

Time is 7 PM.

Thanks Nick at TOPP and Ethan at PPS for helping make this happen.

What shall we discuss at the first DIYcity meetup in NYC?

Ideas that come to my mind include:

- what is the field of possibilities for DIY-type "collaborative infrastructure" in cities? in other words, what should be possible to accomplish by applying web tools to city infrastructure?

- what would the ideal DIY city look like? how would it operate?

- what is a DIY city, anyway?

- what are some of the most pressing issues for NYC, and how can we address them with a DIY approach?

- hey, what's your name?

- what are the next steps?

just some suggestions. if anyone else wants to throw anything out, I'm all ears...

The first DIYcity meetup in New York is next Wednesday at 6 PM. The room we're having it in, at TOPP, has a max of 45 people. If you want to come, be sure to RSVP early to guarantee a spot.

http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1444518/

Hey all,

We've finally nailed down a time and a location for the first DIYcity meetup in New York City:

The event is set for Wednesday, January 14th.
The Open Planning Project has kindly made their offices available for the meeting. They're located at 349 West 12th Street #3, between Greenwich and Washington streets (map here). Event starts at 6 PM.

Please come - we hope to make it a city-altering, paradigm-changing, mind-expanding, fun experience.

If you do plan on attending, please sign up at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1444518/ to give us an idea of how many will be in attendance.

This is a free event of course, and everyone is welcome. Please help spread the word and tell anyone who might be interested.

lots of public records here, not sure if there's an API or not

I am imagining a mobile app that lets you walk around NYC, and letting your device use your location, display zoning information for the building lot(s) at the address or location.

Developers already walk around the city, investigating under-developed sites and (when the market is right) calculating total square footage allowed under zoning.

I don't know if zoning information has been coded with addresses in any public data source.

But this could be useful for a lot of people. Would be interested to hear from local NYC tech folks who might have thought any of this through?

Hi,

We're hoping to have our first meetup for DIY New York City in the next couple of weeks.

If anyone has a meeting space to volunteer, get in touch.

Also, feel free to propose topics to focus on in the first meeting. We have some idea of the direction we think things should take, given who it seems will be in attendance, but anyone who wants to propose ideas of their own should do so.

More soon.