Ben Wellington of I Quant NY, a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt's School of Architecture, recently compiled data from the NYC Open Data Portal on the most common parking spots in New York City where cars were ticketed for blocking pedestrian ramps, and he found that the NYPD has been issuing thousands of erroneous tickets acumulating over $1.7 million per year.
When Wellington presented the NYPD with the data and proof of the erroneous tickets, the police actually fessed up about the mistake. It's a great story of how the City's open data portal is an extremely valuable resource and can end up saving lives, saving money or catching City officials who are doing something wrong.
I was speechless. THIS is what the future of government could look like one day. THIS is what Open Data is all about. THIS was coming from the NYPD, who is not generally celebrated for its transparency, and yet it’s the most open and honest response I have received from any New York City agency to date. Imagine a city where all agencies embrace this sort of analysis instead of deflect and hide from it.
Check out the full writeup for more on the legal parking spots that were ticketed erroneously, and to see the NYPD's full response when called out on it.
via I Quant NY
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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