As part of its 2021 report, A Framework for a City Built for Sunlight, MAS conducted a citywide social vulnerability assessment to identify populations for whom preserving and prioritizing the public realm is particularly crucial.

Census indicators such as age, race, median household income, and disability status were first selected to describe underlying social vulnerability. These were then combined with wellness-related health indicators like mental health, physical activity, and sleep. Finally, built environment indicators such as population density, public space acreage, and transit accessibility were layered to account for the disparate physical characteristics of New York City’s urban environment.

The data associated with each indicator was broken into five bins to generate scores for each census tract. Depending on the indicator, bins were determined based on either the quantile or equal interval statistical methods. Each indicator was assigned equal weight. Scores were then tallied for each indicator and aggregated to generate overall social vulnerability scores for each census tract. These were then visualized on a publicly accessible interactive map for users to explore.

Our analysis is one of just a few social vulnerability studies that have been conducted for New York City. It shows that each borough is burdened with great social vulnerability, and that socioeconomic, health, and built environment factors tend to correlate. It will be no surprise to students of the city that the South Bronx and southeast Brooklyn are especially vulnerable.

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Workplace: The Municipal Art Society of New York

Year: 2021

Role: Lead Data and GIS Analyst, Visual Designer

The near-constant roar of low-flying airplanes is an issue in many New York City neighborhoods. Excessive aircraft noise has been linked to health issues including asthma, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, sleep disorders, and impaired learning ability. Despite this, buyers and renters do not have the tools to know if airplance noise is present near their next home.

To offer insight for potential residents, Localize analyzed all sales and rental listings available on its platform along with 2017 noise impact data from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and 2014-2017 complaint data obtained from the Port Authority through a FOIL request.

We found that roughly one in 10 homes on the market in Queens falls within a potentially loud flight path. The Bronx ranked second, with more than three percent of homes on the market exposed to bothersome airplane noise. The level of airplane noise in many areas is roughly comparable to that of a loud air conditioner.

In terms of sheer numbers of homes on the market affected by the roar of airplanes, Flushing had the most, followed by Howard Beach and East Harlem.

The good news is that older, louder airplane engines continue to be phased out in the U.S. Residents in certain areas may also be eligible to receive grant money from the FAA in the future to soundproof their homes.

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Workplace: Localize

Year: 2018

Role: Lead Researcher, GIS Analyst

Housing code violations are a regular issue for many New York City renters, leading to potentially dangerous conditions like mold that can affect human health and quality of life.

Localize was interested in the rate of housing code violations across New York City neighborhoods and whether it varies according to household income.

To answer these questions, we analyzed Housing Maintenance Code Violations data from 2013 to 2017. NYCHA developments were excluded because public housing complaints are not filed with the city’s 311 service.

We found that New Yorkers in neighborhoods with a median household income below $30,000 per year are exposed to significantly more housing violations. Apartments in these neighborhoods were eight times more likely to have housing violations than those in neighborhoods where the median household income is above $80,000 per year. The violation rate in low-income neighborhoods was double that of neighborhoods where the median household income falls between $40,000 and $50,000 per year.

Overall, roughly 33% of open housing code violations issued over the previous five years were in the Bronx. Tremont had the city’s highest rate of housing violations, with 2.6 per renting household; the Concourse area had the highest share of the city’s total violations, with about 4%.

Roughly 22.5% of the city’s total violations were in Central and Eastern Brooklyn, and 14.5% were in Northern Manhattan.

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Workplace: Localize

Year: 2018

Role: Lead Researcher, GIS Analyst

In 2016, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo solicited proposals for redevelopment of the James A. Farley Building and Penn Station. In response, Appleseed collaborated with NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management on a study to determine whether significant transportation improvements would require complete demolition of the existing station, Madison Square Garden, and 2 Penn Plaza, and the construction of an entirely new station complex.

Through a series of interviews with area property owners and in-depth analysis of the internal and external Penn Station area, we recommended an alternative approach in which incremental improvements, such as new and reconfigured entrances and passageways,  could relieve congestion and improve traffic flow at a fraction of the cost of rebuilding the complex.

Within Penn Station, the report recommended creating a new and wider upper-level 32nd Street Corridor from Seventh to Eighth Avenues, lined with new retail, restaurants, and other amenities; improving and decongesting existing New Jersey Transit (NJT) space by moving some NJT functions into space vacated by Amtrak; and widening and renovating the 33rd Street Corridor with higher ceilings, more natural light, and improved connectivity to the Seventh and Eighth Avenue subway stations.

Outside Penn Station, we recommended improving access to the station from Seventh Avenue; creating a new public plaza with an above-grade entrance on the north side of 33rd Street; widening, renovating, and re-opening the “Gimbels passageway” between Penn Station and Herald Square; and transforming part of West 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues into a pedestrian-only street.

The report estimated that the Moynihan Train Hall and other rail improvements in the Farley Building, in combination with incremental improvements in and around Penn Station, could be completed at a cost of $2 to $2.5 billion. In contrast, combining the same improvements at the Farley Building with relocation of Madison Square Garden and construction of a new Penn Station, would cost an estimated $5.5 to $6 billion. 

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Workplace: Appleseed

Year: 2016

Role: Lead Spatial Analyst, Graphic Designer

Selected Media Coverage: Commercial Observer →   Curbed →

Of the many changes that have reshaped New York City during the past 15 years, few have been as dramatic and as consequential as the transformation of Downtown Brooklyn into a major residential and office district.

The rapid expansion of coworking space was one of many factors Appleseed analyzed as part of a report for the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership that examined the neighborhood's increasing role as a center of innovation, economic growth, and cultural development.

Piecing together information from a variety of sources, we estimated that as of summer 2015, there were 56 locations in western Brooklyn at which space for startups and small ventures was being offered, under construction, or planned. Locations ranged from facilities occupying a few thousand square feet to the 225,000 square feet that WeWork was planning to develop as part of a 675,000-square-foot office building to be constructed in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The report found that nearly one million square feet of coworking space had been completed (most during the previous 10 years), and about 400,000 square feet was under construction or planned. This was the first such estimate of coworking space in Brooklyn.

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Workplace: Appleseed

Year: 2016

Role: Lead Spatial and Visual Analyst

Selected Media Coverage: The Real Deal →

As part of a report for the Alliance for Downtown New York examining Lower Manhattan's role as an employment center, Appleseed conducted an analysis of journey-to-work data at the city and metropolitan levels.

Our analysis revealed that Lower Manhattan is a more powerful employer than ever, as it increasingly employs workers from all areas of the city and region. For example, while there were particularly large concentrations of workers living in nearby Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, none of Brooklyn’s 18 Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) had fewer than 2,149 residents working in Lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan has also diversified beyond the high wage financial services sector and is increasingly important as a pathway to higher levels of employment. As the report revealed, Lower Manhattan employs over 92,000 people in 29 city PUMAs with low employment ratios and/or unemployment rates at least 50 percent higher than the national average.

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Workplace: Appleseed

Year: 2015

Role: Lead Spatial and Visual Analyst

Selected Media Coverage: amNewYork →

Central Park’s value to New York City is both a tribute to the foresight of the New Yorkers who created it more than 150 years ago and a product of the Central Park Conservancy’s and New York City’s investments during the past 35 years. 

In order to fully understand the park’s impact, the Central Park Conservancy asked Appleseed to assess Central Park’s value to New York City’s economy. 

Using data provided by the Conservancy and from sources such as CoStar and NYC & Company, we analyzed the premium that Central Park adds to the value of properties surrounding the park and its impact as the preferred location for New York’s hospitality industry and its leading cultural institutions. 

Our analysis revealed that in fiscal year 2014, proximity to Central Park added more than $26 billion to the market value of properties on the blocks closest to the park. From the beginning of 2014 through spring 2015, 41 of the 50 highest-value apartment sales in New York City were located either directly across the street or within a few blocks of the park. Fifteen new residential projects with a total of more than 3,000 units had been completed since 2008, were under construction or were planned in the Central Park area. Together they represented an investment of more than $10 billion. 

Moreover, of the 21 commercial office buildings with asking rents of $125 or more as of spring 2015, 17 were located in the Central Park area. Three of New York City’s four highest-value retail corridors (as measured by retail asking rents) were also located within a few blocks of the park. And since 2013, 15 new hotels with a total of 3,451 rooms had opened in the Central Park area or were scheduled to open by spring 2016.

The report made clear that preserving and building on Central Park's legacy is one of the strongest investments that can be made in the city’s future. 

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Workplace: Appleseed

Year: 2015

Role: Lead Spatial and Visual Analyst, Graphic Designer

Located at the convergence of 11 subway lines, two PATH lines, and the Hudson River ferry network, the World Trade Center is one of the most accessible office locations in the western hemisphere. But just how many people are within commuting distance of the complex, and what is its potential labor market?

As part of a research collaboration with NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, Appleseed conducted a GIS analysis to determine the number of residents within a 45-minute public transit commute of the World Trade Center. As of 2013, the population of this area was estimated at nearly 4.3 million, including 2.3 million working age residents in the labor force.

The report also focused on the World Trade Center's role in catalyzing new investment in the surrounding area. Based on data obtained from the Alliance for Downtown New York, 25 residential developments with a total of 3,004 units and 14 hotels with a total of 3,034 rooms had either been completed since 2010, were under construction, or planned for future development.

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Workplace: Appleseed

Year: 2015

Role: Lead Spatial and Visual Analyst

Selected Media Coverage: Crain's →

As part of a report for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign outlining the impact of bus service on the economies of Westchester and Nassau Counties, Appleseed obtained and mapped ridership statistics for the Bee-Line and Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE) bus systems.

Our analysis showed that the Bee-Line's fleet of 329 buses carried over 32 million passengers on 59 fixed-routes in 2012, making it the second largest bus system in New York State behind the MTA. Many routes travel through the major cities of White Plains, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers.

Similarly, 298 NICE buses carried nearly 30 million passengers on 49 fixed-routes in 2012, making it the third largest bus system in the state.

The Suffolk County Transit system was also mapped to illustrate the geographic reach of New York's downstate bus systems.

The report also included significant research on bus system revenues, the role that the systems play in enhancing labor market efficiency, and their contributions to economic development projects such as Empire City Casino and Ridge Hill in Yonkers.

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Workplace: Appleseed

Year: 2013

Role: Lead Spatial and Visual Analyst

Following Hurricane Sandy, the Regional Plan Association launched a scenario planning effort to help municipalities build more resilient communities. An accompanying report provided a framework to inform recovery and rebuilding decisions that advance coastal adaptation and strengthen local capacity.

To better understand the composition of the region's shoreline, we analyzed Google Earth images for every square mile of the NY-NJ-CT coast. The images were then used to create a GIS shapefile that classified every foot of natural and reinforced shoreline into eight categories: beach, marsh, other natural (bedrock, rocks, other vegetation), bulkhead, rock, pier, and other reinforced (breakwater, jetty).

Based on the analysis, an estimated 1,146 miles, or just over 25% of the region’s shoreline, is reinforced with bulkheads, piers, breakwaters, or rock, much of which was not built specifically for coastal defense. 

Other locations contain soft and sloping shorelines, beaches, and dune systems -- some natural, others modified for enhanced coastal protection.

Our analysis provided one of most complete pictures of regional coastal composition and vulnerability and confirmed the need for responses tailored to the unique risks faced by municipalities.

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Workplace: The Regional Plan Association

Year: 2013

Role: Spatial Analyst

The Regional Plan Association and University of Sydney researchers wanted to conduct a study comparing the governance structures of eight global metropolitan areas. To do this, we conducted spatial research to classify the geographical boundaries of the eight cities and their larger metropolitan areas.

The results showed that there is wide geographic variation among the cities and their metropolitan areas. For example, while Sao Paulo's city area spans nearly 588 square miles (excluding water), or more than 19 percent of the metropolitan area, London's city area is a mere 1.2 square miles, only 0.2 percent of the metropolitan area. Conversely, there is little distinction between the city and metropolitan boundaries of Shanghai.

American cities maintain their reputation as some of the most sprawling in the world. Chicago's metropolitan area, for example, is over 7,000 square miles (excluding water), more than twice the area of Melbourne (the second largest geographic area that was analyzed).

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Workplace: The Regional Plan Association

Year: 2013

Role: Researcher, Spatial Analyst

The Regional Plan Association's annual Transit Leadership Summit brings together transportation executives from major transit agencies around the world to discuss key transportation challenges and solutions.

Following its inaugural year in 2012, the summit invited participants from seven global cities to its second annual meeting, including participants from two new cities: Seoul and Vienna.

In the lead up to the Summit, we conducted extensive research on the bus, subway, tram, and commuter rail systems in Seoul and Vienna, then manually created GIS shapefiles for the respective transit networks. The resulting maps illustrate the contrasting scales and mode composition of the two cities’ networks. Unlike Vienna's smaller and more centralized rail system (left), Seoul's primarily heavy rail system (right) is far more geographically extensive.

In 2010, Seoul's rail system carried 2.447 billion passengers, among the busiest in the world, while its bus system carried 1.677 billion passengers. Vienna's rail system carried 870 million passengers, and its bus system, 114 million.

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Workplace: The Regional Plan Association

Year: 2013

Role: Researcher, Spatial Analyst