Something looked fishy along Sixth Avenue, a reader wrote in this morning. Bricks seemed perched precariously on the facade of 4405 Sixth Avenue in Sunset Park, and the sidewalk had been roped off. A little poking revealed that someone had filed a complaint with the Department of Buildings over falling debris. The Department on March 8 served the building with a “Failure to Maintain Exterior Wall” violation. It is not, apparently, the only issue. Records show the building also has an active boiler violation on file.

Seen anything around the neighborhood? Send a tip to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com

You can zoom, grab and drag the map below to see reported heat-and-hot water issues around Brooklyn. Click on any of the dialogue boxes in the map below to see details of a complaint.

I came across this tool while perusing the Mission Loc@l site out of the Berkeley J School. I thought it pretty cool, and definitely worth sharing.

SeeClickFix allows community members to report non-emergency issues around their neighborhoods. The web site maps them, then alerts government, community groups and media so they can help address the problems.

Given the recent blustering weather, I started with a map to track heat and hot water violations, but these maps can address all kinds of issues–abandoned cars under the Gowanus Expressway, cracks in the sidewalk, dangerous corners…you name it. Got an issue you want to submit to a virtual neighborhood watch? Give a holler. We’ll put it on the map.

Image of Brooklyn Typology's density map

I love me a map. Stacks of charts, graphs and plans provide the foundation for any city project, and offer those interested in neighborhoods a huge amount of information. Databases and public records can prove goldmines, but visual depictions serve up information in more palatable bites.

Though BestViewinBrooklyn has closed for business, its blogger still keeps an eye on Sunset Park. Last week, I got an email about a map of population density in Brooklyn.

Sunset Park has one of the highest. Census tract 100, blockgroup 2 boasts 159.59 people per acre, making it the eleventh densest area in Brooklyn. Flatbush’s tract 508, blockgroup 4 tops the list at a whopping 333 people per acre. One difference, however, is the number of units per acre. Whereas Flatbush as 108 unit per acre for those 333 people, Sunset Park packs 159 into about 47 units per acre, mostly in the form of two- to four-flat buildings. That means that Sunset Park averages 3.4 people per unit, slightly higher than Flatbush’s 3.08.

Interested? Check out the density data, the map, or other troves of info on the site. The map is part of Fake is the New Real, a collection of maps, art and lists by artists and urban planner Neil Freeman. This particular project, Brooklyn Typology, bring census data to life. And makes it pretty. Take a look–then leave a comment. What did you learn about our fair borough?