Finding Building & Property Information

Lately, we've had many questions in the Journalism Library about finding building histories, owner names, code violations, market value, and similar things. Here's a round-up of the most useful tools to find that information! (Photo below is a 1902 panorama of NYC from the Library of Congress.) Dept. of Buildings: BIS (Building Information System) http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/bsqpm01.jsp […]

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Notable New Yorkers from CUL’s Oral History Research Office

Looking for audio recordings and interview transcripts of some influential New Yorkers?  Look no further than the unique digital collection of Notable New Yorkers at the Oral History Research Office of the Columbia University Libraries, collected from 1955-2001.  This special collection includes interviews with influential figures such as Frances Perkins, Kenneth Clark, and Ed Koch.  […]

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Finding Campaign Finance Information

There are a number of independent groups, government boards and commissions who provide information and data on campaign finance and individual political contributions.  The following are just a few of these fantastic resources from the Campaign Finance Research Guide: Federal Election Commission (http://www.fec.gov): The FEC administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which […]

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NYC Community District Profiles – First Stop for Beat Reporting

New York City's 59 community districts within its 5 boroughs show the incredible diversity of our city.  Each district profile contains summary data on population characteristics and land area and use.  Using 2010 Census information, these profiles are a great way to know your communities (age, ethnicity, household, income support, population changes), and each community […]

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NYC Green Book Online

The New York City's Green Book, a staple for directory information on city agencies, offices, boards, and commissions, is now "greener" than before!   Beginning this year, the publication is available online – NYC Green Book Online – with searchable, up-to-date city directory information.  Need a historical directory?  Columbia Libraries has a collection of previous editions […]

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Election Day Hours

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th, and although it is a University Holiday, we are happy to report that the Journalism Library will be open for its usual hours, from 1pm-8pm, for all of your research needs. To find out about voting in NYC, check out the Board of Election’s website at http://vote.nyc.ny.us/index.html […]

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NYC Election Research

Looking for research on NYC elections and campaign finance information?  Try these sites! New York City Board of Elections website provides: election calendars of upcoming elections Commissioners of Elections meeting minutes district maps for all five counties election results and statistics for primary, special, and general election results going back to 1999 New York City Campaign […]

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NYC’s Rat Information Portal

Looking for NYC Department of Health findings on inspections for rats?  The Rat Information Portal, commonly known as RIP, has information searchable by property address, tax block and lot, or by selecting an area or property from a map.  Information about inspections, violations, compliance, exterminations, and cleanups are available as far back as January 1, 2006.  […]

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