De Blasio signs bills to make NYC information open, searchable online
Keeping tabs on the city to get easier
Want to know who is getting a city contract to reconstruct the pavement around Brooklyn Borough Hall, what new rules the Taxi and Limousine Commission is considering or what Request for Proposals the city has issued in Brooklyn?
The City Record has published that sort of information — procurement, public hearings, disposition of public property and hiring — every day in print since 1873 and online for the last couple of years. But the data is in a format that can’t be easily searched or analyzed, stumping those who need historical information or a big-picture understanding of the city’s operations.
On Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill that will bring the city’s municipal data archives into the 21st century.