Some Useful Investigative Open Data Resources

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Usually when I want to research a New York organization I start at NY Open Government, which is a website put out by the NY Attorney General and brings together several open datasets.

NY Open Government: nyopengovernment.com

One way to find people’s addresses is to find them in the voter file. Voter Ref contains the voter files for several states, which can be handy for looking up people’s addresses, date of birth, party registration.

Voter Ref: voteref.com

You can confirm the latest information on people’s voting registration and address by using the state board of election’s voter lookup. You will need their county, date of birth and zip code which you can get from Voter Ref.

NY Voter Lookup: voterlookup.elections.ny.gov

See Through NY has listings of many though not all government employees, which can be useful when you are trying to find information on government workers. No addresses here, but you can find salaries and who people work for in government. If you need bulk data, I wrote a scraping script.

See Through NY: seethroughny.net/payrolls

Another good way to gleam people’s addresses and the candidates they search is NYS Campaign Finance Search. If you think somebody might work for a candidate or campaign, you can search the campaign expenses section.

NYS Campaign Finance Search: publicreporting.elections.ny.gov

The FEC Campaign Search includes a contributor’s address and reported employer, which can provide useful information.

FEC Campaign Search: https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/

Every county in New York State is required to post their tax rolls to their website. Tax rolls can be usually found by searching on Google: “XXXX County Tax Rolls” without the quotes. Not only can you find all of the properties owned by a person that way, you can find their address, assessed value and other information. Often the county tax rolls include information on tax exemptions, such as the Guilderland Solar Exemption and Veterans STAR Reduction, which can help you find people who have solar on their homes or are Veterans. I wrote a script to convert the PDFs into Excel spreadsheets.

If you need to search a whole county or the even the state, you will want to get the full roll from NYS GIS. You don’t need mapping or GIS software to use the Shapefiles — Microsoft Excel and OpenOffice can natively open .DBF which contain the data tables. NYS GIS offers selected countys tax-maps as a Shapefile or GeoPackage too.

NYS GIS Parcels Program: https://gis.ny.gov/parcels/
NYS GIS Tax Parcels Centroid Points: gis.ny.gov/gisdata/inventories/details.cfm?DSID=1300

In addition, most counties offer their tax maps as ArcGIS REST/Services that can be used in a GIS Program like QGIS. You can find them by searching on Google: “XXX County “REST/Services” parcel”.

How to download ArcGIS Rest/Services as KML Google Maps File: mappingsupport.com/p2/kmz_demo/How_to_download_arcgis_data_as_kmz.pdf

ArcPuller is a Great Way to Get this Data in R: andyarthur.org/youll-like-arcpullr.html

In addition, Joseph Elfelt maintains a list of many open government REST/Services:

PDF: https://mappingsupport.com/p/surf_gis/list-federal-state-county-
city-GIS-servers.pdf
txt file: https://mappingsupport.com/p/surf_gis/list-federal-state-county-city-GIS-servers.t
xt
csv file: https://mappingsupport.com/p/surf_gis/list-federal-state-county-city-GIS-servers.c
sv

An easier to read version can be found here: https://servers.cartobin.com/state/New%20York

Sometimes it’s useful to find what state contracts people have:

NY Open Book Contracts Search: wwe2.osc.state.ny.us/transparency/contracts/contractsearch.cfm

See how local governments like counties and cities send their money:

Local Government Reports: wwe2.osc.state.ny.us/transparency/LocalGov/LocalGovIntro.cfm

Many different data sets can be found on data.ny.gov

Arrests of Non-Whites vs. Non-White Population

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Arrests of Non-Whites vs. Non-White Population (2021)
A comparision of the Census Population data to arrests data in New York.
County Arrests of Non-Whites Non-White, Non-Incarcerated Population Absolute Difference Percent Difference
Albany 53.8% 31.7% 22.1% 69.6%
Allegany 12.0% 8.4% 3.6% 43.2%
Bronx 96.1% 85.9% 10.2% 11.8%
Broome 34.7% 20.2% 14.5% 71.7%
Cattaraugus 22.2% 11.6% 10.6% 91.4%
Cayuga 23.6% 10.6% 13.0% 121.9%
Chautauqua 27.3% 14.2% 13.1% 92.4%
Chemung 27.0% 15.1% 12.0% 79.5%
Chenango 5.2% 7.8% −2.6% −33.5%
Clinton 16.3% 10.2% 6.1% 59.4%
Columbia 31.5% 16.3% 15.2% 93.1%
Cortland 18.1% 11.9% 6.3% 52.7%
Delaware 14.2% 10.9% 3.2% 29.6%
Dutchess 46.8% 29.4% 17.5% 59.4%
Erie 52.9% 27.3% 25.6% 93.6%
Essex 4.9% 8.5% −3.6% −42.8%
Franklin 20.5% 14.6% 5.9% 40.1%
Fulton 14.8% 10.0% 4.8% 48.3%
Genesee 25.1% 11.8% 13.3% 112.8%
Greene 25.2% 12.9% 12.3% 95.6%
Hamilton 0.0% 6.3% −6.3% −100.0%
Herkimer 14.6% 8.1% 6.5% 79.9%
Jefferson 21.4% 17.1% 4.3% 25.4%
Kings 87.0% 62.5% 24.6% 39.3%
Lewis 3.2% 5.5% −2.3% −42.5%
Livingston 17.1% 9.7% 7.3% 75.1%
Madison 13.4% 9.6% 3.8% 40.0%
Monroe 65.1% 31.6% 33.5% 106.3%
Montgomery 38.4% 18.9% 19.5% 103.2%
Nassau 69.0% 41.5% 27.5% 66.3%
New York 86.8% 50.0% 36.8% 73.5%
Niagara 40.6% 17.4% 23.2% 133.0%
Oneida 40.7% 19.8% 21.0% 106.0%
Onondaga 53.3% 26.0% 27.3% 104.8%
Ontario 31.1% 12.1% 18.9% 156.0%
Orange 58.7% 38.2% 20.5% 53.6%
Orleans 23.8% 12.6% 11.2% 89.2%
Oswego 13.1% 8.7% 4.3% 49.6%
Otsego 14.3% 10.5% 3.8% 36.4%
Putnam 40.5% 22.8% 17.7% 77.4%
Queens 88.6% 74.2% 14.4% 19.4%
Rensselaer 41.7% 21.4% 20.3% 94.7%
Richmond 68.1% 40.4% 27.6% 68.4%
Rockland 68.1% 36.5% 31.6% 86.6%
Saratoga 16.7% 12.4% 4.3% 34.3%
Schenectady 57.5% 32.2% 25.4% 78.9%
Schoharie 11.2% 8.8% 2.5% 28.1%
Schuyler 8.5% 6.4% 2.0% 31.5%
Seneca 21.0% 9.4% 11.6% 123.4%
St. Lawrence 11.0% 9.0% 2.0% 21.8%
Steuben 13.0% 9.2% 3.8% 40.9%
Suffolk 55.6% 33.0% 22.6% 68.5%
Sullivan 43.9% 28.1% 15.8% 56.4%
Tioga 7.9% 8.1% −0.2% −2.4%
Tompkins 36.4% 25.6% 10.8% 42.1%
Ulster 37.4% 21.3% 16.0% 75.2%
Warren 11.6% 8.9% 2.7% 30.4%
Washington 12.0% 7.7% 4.3% 55.7%
Wayne 28.4% 11.9% 16.5% 138.7%
Westchester 79.6% 46.9% 32.7% 69.8%
Wyoming 19.4% 6.2% 13.2% 211.2%
Yates 10.2% 6.1% 4.1% 67.9%
Andy Arthur, 1/31/23.

Data Sources:
2020 Adjusted Population, Adjusted to Move Incarcerated Individuals to Arrest Location. LATFOR. latfor.state.ny.us/data/?sec=2020amendpop
Adult Arrest Demographics for 2021. DCJS. criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/adult-arrest-demographics/2021/index.html

Senior Housing That Seniors Actually Like – The New York Times

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Senior Housing That Seniors Actually Like – The New York Times

Forty-five years ago, Betty Szudy and her wife, Maggie Roth, both 70, bought a Craftsman bungalow in Oakland, Calif. In 2017, at the same time their son and his wife were fruitlessly searching for an affordable apartment in the neighborhood, California was liberalizing its housing laws to encourage so-called accessory dwelling units, or A.D.U.s.

So, the family looked into building one. The parents now live in the main house and the adult children in the A.D.U. — in this case, a once-decrepit garage transformed into a 400-square-foot studio with a kitchen and bath.

The arrangement makes it simple to share meals, planned or spontaneous, and to pick up items for the other household at Trader Joe’s. “I love having them around,” Ms. Szudy said.

Henry Hill Gravel Pit

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Officially the Henry Hill Gravel Pit is the highest point in Albany County though LIDAR suggests it might be a few feet lower then a point about a 1/2 mile south of there. Part of the Partridge Run Game Management Are.

Hazy Sun at Gravel Pit

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A rather hazy, cloudy day out skiing at the Partridge Run Game Area one weekend several years ago. This picture is taken at the gravel pit on Henry Hill, and is considered one of the highest elevations in Albany County -- officially it though looking at LIDAR data I have my doubts, as I found a higher point outside of Rensselaerville.

Taken on Sunday February 13, 2011 at Partridge Run Game Management Area.

Beautiful Day of Skiing

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Saturday had deep blue skies and wasn't particularly cold when I was out skiing at Rensselaerville State Forest on my final day in my 30s, as the big forty approached later in the day.

Taken on Saturday January 28, 2023 at Rensselearville State Forest.

January 31, 2023 Morning

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Good morning! January is almost done. Tomorrow is February and then Friday it gets cold. But warm next week.

Tuesday. ⚙ Put your foot on the clutch, let the engine slow slightly. Pull the shift lever down let your foot off the clutch and give it some gas. Do it what seems like a million times and it seems like a very natural process.

Snow flurries and 31 degrees in Delmar, NY for the morning walk. ❄ There is a west-northwest breeze at 6 mph. 🍃. There are 2 inches of snow on the ground. ☃ Bare patches around. ️Things will start to thaw out at Thursday around noontime. 🌡️And then that one very cold night, relatively speaking in the context of the year.

Today will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 8am. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 32 degrees at 2pm. One degree below normal, which is similar to a typical day around January 25th. Northwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 17 degrees. The record high of 58 was set in 1913. 6.9 inches of snow fell back in 2000.❄

Maybe not the nicest morning ever for the walk 🚶, kind of gray and chilly though not as cold as it can be in the winter. But we are heading into February so that’s to be expected. The next few mornings will be clearer but colder. And what will the Ground Hog 🐻 see on Thursday? Nose 👃 is running a bit in the cold and I had a bit of a headache yesterday but it was a Monday and I’m not a sick puppy 🐶 even if I’m a bit of a redneck and a pyro.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 30° from the due south horizon (-40.9° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 10.4 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:26 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (240°). 📸

The sunset is in the west-southwest (247°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:07 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 9 seconds with dusk around 5:37 pm, which is one minute and 19 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the east-southeast (102°) at an altitude of 52° from the horizon, 247,924 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:11 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies 🌃 and temperatures around 28 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 2 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 20 seconds over yesterday.

Pay day today 💵 and I look rich for five minutes though I think my landlord and my brokerage firm is laughing 😂 and I might have fifty cents 🪙 after I pay down the IRS tax bill lol. One step closer to the future 🔮 I tell myself. I could live out in the country and pay even more in taxes. 🐐 Property taxes are a bitch in New York State. a

Tonight will be cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy ☁, with a low of 14 degrees at 5am. One degree below normal. Maximum wind chill around 15 at 12am; West wind 5 to 8 mph becoming calm after midnight. In 2022, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 10 degrees. The record low of -20 occurred back in 1920.

Brushed the snow off Red 🛻 especially the solar panel so when the sun comes out it can keep the batteries topped off in the cold. With the solar, the truck often starts the best on cold sunny days ☀ as the battery is fully topped off. 🔋 Then it’s just a matter of waiting for the lubrication of the engine to kick in after a second or two.

Cold but sunny for Saturday. ☀ Saturday, sunny and cold, with a high near 10. Warms up come Sunday, a chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Typical average high for the weekend is 34 degrees. I don’t think that quite averages to 34. Little on the low side. National Gird needs their pound of flesh and I need a odd grid cabin out in the country with a wood stove so I can stop paying the heat the earth’s climate.

Looking ahead l, there are 2 weeks until Valentines Day ❤️ when the sun will be setting at 5:27 pm with dusk at 5:54 pm. On that day in 2022, we had mostly cloudy, snow showers and temperatures between 28 and 15 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 36 degrees. We hit a record high of 63 back in 1946.

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