NYC's Open Data Rollout Collides With Reluctant Departments

The NYPD's failure to produce usable traffic crash data, or agree to change their data gathering and reporting procedures, is just one example of the obstacles confronting implementation of the city's landmark open data law.

1 minute read

October 13, 2013, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"On Thursday, the [New York City Council's] Transportation Committee was discussing Intro 1163, a bill requiring the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT) to maintain an interactive traffic crash map," writes Kate Hinds. "This is data that street safety advocates, community board members, and some city council members have been pushing for for years, because it allows people to visualize data."

"But the NYPD, represented at the hearing by assistant commissioner of intergovernmental affairs Susan Petito, is opposed to the bill." According to Hinds, the reasons given for the opposition were many, but they essentially boiled down to one: "a philosophical objection by the Police Department to posting this sort of...crash data on a site".

NYPD isn't the only city department flouting the new law. The Departments of Transportation and Education were singled out by Code for America's Noel Hidalgo as particularly uncooperative in public testimony.

Thursday, October 10, 2013 in WNYC: Transportation Nation

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

High-rise apartment buildings in Waikiki, Hawaii with steep green mountains in background.

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss

The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

April 6, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 10, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

A line of white wind turbines surrounded by wheat and soybean fields with a cloudy blue sky in the background.

Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal

The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.

April 15 - Fast Company

Red and white Caltrain train.

Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification

The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.

April 15 - Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

View up at brick Catholic church towers and modern high-rise buildings.

Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation

Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.

April 15 - NBC Dallas