Search all of New York City's affordable housing by name, owner, year built, location, financing or physical information (for example by # of building violations in 2010).  Or, you can research all sorts of demographic information from Crime to Education to employment to health to all sorts of housing informtion, to property tax to population, ethnic demographics and transportation.

The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy collects a broad array of data on demographics, neighborhood conditions, transportation, housing stock and other aspects of the New York City real estate market. We make our data directly available to the public through our new Data Search Tool, and publish comprehensive analyses of these data in our periodic reports.

The Data Search Tool is a new online application that provides direct access to New York City data collected by the Furman Center. Users can select from a range of variables to create customized maps, download tables, and track trends over time. Users are able to overlay never-before available information on privately-owned, publicly -subsidized housing programs collected through the Furman Center’s Subsidized Housing Information Project (SHIP). Information about how to use the Data Search Tool is available in our online guide.

From the Furman Center

My favorite shopping destination.

Third Thursdays

The Lower East Side invites you to discover some of the best art in New York City during Third Thursdays, a night to discover the diverse art offerings of the area. Area galleries roll out the red carpet, staying open late from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the following Thursdays in 2011:

• March 17
• April 21
• May 19
• June 16
• July 21
• September 15
• October 20

The Lower East Side Visitor Center, 54 Orchard Street, will be open late on Third Thursdays. Stop by from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and pick up our neighborhood guide, complete with dining, shopping and nightlife information.

While you are in the Lower East Side, stop by the New Museum. This contemporary art museum offers free admission from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday nights.

The Lo-Down is the media sponsor for Third Thursdays. Please visit The Lo- Down at www.thelodownny.com for Lower East Side breaking news and information.

Participating galleries:

1. Abrazo Interno (CSV); 107 Suffolk Street ; 212.260.4080; www.csvcenter.org

2. Anastasia Photo; 166 Orchard Street; 212.677.9725 www.anastasia-photo.com

3. Allegra LaViola Gallery; 179 East Broadway; 917.463.3901; www.allegralaviola.com

4. Bridge Gallery; 98 Orchard Street ; 212.674.6320; www.bridgegalleryny.com

5. Charles Bank Gallery; 196 Bowery; 212.219.4095; www.charlesbankgallery.com

6. Collette Blanchard; 26 Clinton Street; 917.639.3912; www.colletteblanchard.com

NOTE: Collette Blanchard has closed her gallery in NYC and relocated it to Paris, France.

7. Dacia Gallery; 53 Stanton Street; 917-445-5243; www.daciagallery.com

8. DODGE gallery; 15 Rivington Street; 212-228-5122; www.dodge-gallery.com

9. frosch&portmann; 53B Stanton Street; 646-266-5994; www.froschportmann.com

10. FusionArtsMuseum; 57 Stanton Street; 212-995-5290; www.fusionartsmuseum.org

11. gallery nine5; 24 Spring Street; 212-965-9995; www.gallerynine5.com

12. Invisible-Exports; 14a Orchard Street; 212-226-5447; www.invisible-exports.com

13. Jen Bekman; 6 Spring Street; 212.219.0166; www.jenbekman.com

14. Krause Gallery; 149 Orchard Street; 212.777.7799; www.krausegallery.com

15. Le Salon d’Art; 90 Stanton Street, 212-777-6008, www.lesalonart.com

16. Lesley Heller Workspace; 54 Orchard Street; 212.410.6120; www.lesleyheller.com

17. LMAKprojects; 139 Eldridge Street; 212.255.9707; www.lmakprojects.com

18. Lu Magnus; 55 Hester Street; 212.677.6555; www.lumagnus.com

19. Mark Miller Gallery; 92 Orchard Street; 212.253.9479; www.markmillergallery.com

20. Munch Gallery; 245 Broome Street; 646.209.5457; www.munchgallery.com

21. Myplasticheart nyc; 210 Forsyth Street; 646.290.6866; www.myplasticheartnyc.com

22. The New Museum of Contemporary Art; 235 Bowery; 212.219.1222 www.newmuseum.org

23. NP Contemporary Art Center; 131 Chrystie Street; 212.226.4552 www.npcac.org

24. Rooster Gallery; 190 Orchard Street; 212.230.1370; www.roostergallery.com

25. Scaramouche; 52 Orchard Street; 212.228.2229; www.scaramoucheart.com

26. Sloan Fine Art; 128 Rivington Street; 212.477.1140 www.sloanfineart.com

27. Stephan Stoyanov; 29 Orchard Street; 212.343.4240; www.stephanstoyanovgallery.com

28. Thierry Goldberg Projects; 5 Rivington Street; 212.967.2260; www.thierrygoldberg.com

29. White Box; 329 Broome Street; 212.714.2347; www.whiteboxny.org

30. Windows Gallery; 37 Orchard Street; 917-600-0807; www.psychicwindowsgallery.com

31. Woodward Gallery; 133 Eldridge Street; 212.966.3411; www.woodwardgallery.net

Additionally, since the printing of our gallery guide, Gallery Bar has joined Third Thursdays:

Gallery Bar; 120 Orchard Street; 212-529-2266; www.gallerybarnyc.com

I'm a bit confused why a 2 bedroom with a Balcony is 25K less than a 2BR without, valuable information nonetheless.

an aerial view of the SPURA lots; the wide street running east-west is Delancey

Last month, Community Board 3 approved a set of guidelines for the future development of ten sites along Delancey and Essex Streets, part of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, or SPURA. The guidelines cover many aspects of proposed development (e.g. the fate of the Essex Street Market, the potential for a new school) but the central debate has been over the affordability of the approximately 1000 new rental apartments that are expected to be built.

The words “mixed-income” appear several times in the guidelines, as in this sentence: “The mixed-income character of the neighborhood must be reflected in the development plan for the sites.” In the past, city officials, developers, and local residents have been unable to agree upon what exactly this kind of directive should mean, which is one reason why the sites have remained undeveloped for 43 years.

The guidelines propose what is being called the “50-50 plan”: 50% of the new units (or about 500 units) will be offered at market rate and 50% will be offered for other income levels, including 30% for people making up to $40,000 a year for a family of four.  Graphic designer Manuel Miranda and I looked at the details of the proposal, and compared them to data on the income levels of existing residents. Manuel’s graphic below, imagined as a kind of community bulletin or “Public Notice,” shows that while the guidelines do propose a mixed-income development, the lion’s share of new apartments—the market rate units—will be affordable only to a tiny fraction of the current residents of Chinatown and the Lower East Side.

It’s easy to look at the vast parking lots along Delancey and imagine that they are a blank slate for development. In fact, as the many people who’ve worked to create the guidelines have discovered, there are many constraints on what can be built there. In the coming months, Open City will address how these constraints have influenced the SPURA guidelines. Hopefully, these posts will add to the ongoing discussion about what the city’s goals should be for new development in these and other rapidly changing neighborhoods.

infographic by Manuel Miranda

February 8th to February 27th

20 days of independent short and feature films made for under $30,000, all in pursuit of the prestigious LES Prix D’Or.

After more than two decades of effort, Chinatown is moving closer to forming a business improvement district that would charge area property owners for added services.

The Department of City Planning is now reviewing the plan, which must be approved by the department's board of commissioners and then the City Councill. The measure so far has overcome early opposition; two previous efforts to create a district were defeated.

"It's a historic moment for Chinatown," City Council member Margaret Chin said speaking in favor of the proposal during a public hearing on Wednesday.