Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division Reference Librarians
476 Fifth Avenue (42nd St and Fifth Ave)
First Floor , Room 117
New York, NY 10018
Introduction
This research guide includes links to a wide variety of digital maps on the Internet describing the New York City metropolitan area, including parts of suburban NYC, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The links have been grouped into subject tabs relating to the state or municipality; NYC interactive map websites have been further sorted into the following subcategories: architecture & urban design, communities & neighborhoods, the environment, transportation, as well as maps relating to political boundaries.
We've included a bibliography of material relating to digital mapping, geographic information systems (GIS), and multimedia cartography available at NYPL for researchers wishing to understand how these interactive maps are created. We've also provided links to websites that provide open data and mapping software.
What is GIS? Visit USGS.gov, National Geographic.org, and Wikipedia for more details.
Best of the Web
NextLI
Explore L.I.'s housing, school district boundaries, government districts, service providers and more. Interact with the information to empower your ideas about what the future should look like here.
NYC Then and Now
Aerial photos of NYC from 1924 to the present.
NJ Transparency Center Tax Parcel App
Search by county or municipality and view property information.
Connecticut Measured by 2020 American Community Survey (ACS)
ACS is an ongoing survey administered by the US Census Bureau which provides information on people, economy, housing, and more. This interface maps some of the most in-demand variables for Connecticut towns.
Westchester Co. GIS Hub
These interactive map-based applications and story maps are built to help users access, explore, and interpret data with ease.
Data.gov
Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. The site provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets.
NYC Community District Pofiles
This is your gateway to data, maps, and other resources describing NYC's 59 community districts.
NYC Council Members and Districts
The 51 Council districts throughout the five boroughs are each represented by an elected Council Member
NYTimes - Surveying the Destruction Caused by Hurricane Sandy
A survey of the flooding in NY & NJ after hurricane Sandy, October 30, 2012.
nycsubway.org - Historical NYC Transit Maps
A collection of NYC commuter rail, subway and bus maps from the 1880s to the present.
Street View of 1940s New York
Between 1939 and 1941, the WPA collaborated with the NYC Tax Department to collect photographs of most buildings in the five boroughs of New York City.
Accessibility for Print Disabilities
For researchers with print disabilities, the Library has resources and services available upon request. The following services are available:
Digitization of Select Research Materials
Researchers who are homebound or have a print disability or visual impairment can explore many of our research collections online and request digitization of specific items of interest. To request the digitization service, email accessibility@nypl.org. Please note that you must be a patron of the Andrew Heiskell Library. This digitization service only includes material belonging to the research collections and does not apply to branch/circulating collections.
Screen Readers and Enlargers
Every public PC at all New York Public Library locations is equipped with JAWS screen reading software and MAGic software for enlarging the screen, changing colors and contrast, and screenreading.
Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library
The Andrew Heiskell Library offers popular reading materials in accessible audio and braille formats, as well as free membership to the Bookshare database of over one million accessible texts. It also offers individual coaching and a large variety of group workshops on topics related to accessible technology. Check the listings on our website, call 212-206-5400, or email talkingbooks@nypl.org
For more information, see the Accessibility at NYPL page.