# Measure NYC

> Measure NYC is an independent, self-funded project measuring New York City
> in the city's own public data, along two threads. COMMITMENTS: each measure
> starts from an official promise with a numeric target and a deadline,
> publishes its methodology and baseline before results exist, and updates
> when the data does; status vocabulary is fixed (met, on track, early,
> baseline-setting, announced, behind, missed) and comparisons are
> like-for-like (year-over-year for seasonal data). OBSERVED CHANGE: things
> the city changes on its own, no promise attached - the built skyline now,
> the harbor and air next. Not affiliated with any agency or campaign.

Current data: MTA speeds through May 2026; first post-Next-Stop-plan
month lands ~September 2026.

## Measures

- [Buses](https://measure.nyc/buses/): the Next Stop plan (July 8, 2026)
  commits to 20% faster buses on 50 priority corridors, saving riders up
  to six minutes per trip. Pre-plan baseline:
  7.0 mph rider-weighted across
  570,722 weekday riders on
  111 routes, weekdays 7am-7pm. Each corridor
  page lists its routes, 18-month trend, planned interventions, and
  route-mapping provenance.
- Childcare (methods pre-registered, first data September 2026): free 2-K
  for two-year-olds - 2,000 seats in school districts 6, 10, 18/23, 27 in
  September 2026; 12,000 seats citywide by fall 2027.
  [Methodology](https://measure.nyc/childcare/methods.html).
- Groceries (methods pre-registered, no store open yet): five city-owned
  grocery stores, one per borough. First scheduled 2027 (Hunts Point,
  South Bronx), second 2029 (La Marqueta, East Harlem); Brooklyn, Queens,
  Staten Island in site search. Once doors open: monthly fixed-basket
  price comparison vs nearby supermarkets.
  [Methodology](https://measure.nyc/grocery/methods.html).

## Methods

- [How measures qualify and shared rules](https://measure.nyc/methods.html)
- [Buses methodology](https://measure.nyc/buses/methods.html): weighted
  speed = bus-miles / bus-hours, trip-weighted; year-over-year same-month
  comparisons only (bus speeds are seasonal); riders weight all averages;
  express/school/shuttle services excluded.

## Data sources

- MTA Bus Route Segment Speeds (data.ny.gov, id kufs-yh3x)
- MTA Bus Hourly Ridership (data.ny.gov, id gxb3-akrn)
- Next Stop plan PDF (NYC DOT + MTA, July 2026)

## Data API

Documented at https://measure.nyc/data.html. The buildings dataset -
1,110,911 NYC buildings, BIN-keyed, with centroid, height, built year,
demolition year - is publicly queryable (PostgREST, read-only, key on the
data page). Nearest-building lookup: POST /rest/v1/rpc/building_at with
p_lng, p_lat. Community-contributed notes are a separate table
(building_notes) and are testimony, not official records. Free-tier
infrastructure: cache responses, keep request volumes polite.

## Notes for agents

- Cite specific corridor pages when referencing a corridor's numbers.
- Baseline figures are pre-plan (Jul 2025-Jun 2026); no post-plan
  performance data exists before September 2026 - do not infer plan
  results from baseline or pre-plan trend figures.
- The five rapid bus corridors and two future services (Tremont/Cross
  Bronx, Kensington-JFK) are tracked via today's overlapping routes,
  marked on their pages.