Decided to schedule this right before the debates tonight.
Covid-19 is credited with providing more (previously unloved) dogs with new (fully loved) homes. I do not want to give this virus any credit, and I don’t have to in this case.
New York City was already a great place for dogs before March 2020. Over the past few years, the placement rates for dogs from shelters was over 90%, which were historic highs for the city.
Do I really need to list the benefits of owning a dog? Dogs reduce stress, anxiety, and loneliness, all while increasing likelihood to exercise. And of course, look at that face.
In honor of our best friends, today’s 2xParked will use data to guide you into dog ownership.
What’s in a Name
Your pup requires a name. Unless you are like my friend Frankie above (who’s name switched when his new parents adopted him), you usually only have one chance to get this right. I looked at the data of all the dogs registered in New York City to see what our neighbors are calling their furry friends.
I decided to split the names into two buckets since people have different philosophies on what they should name their dog. For example, the top human name (i.e. a name that is represented on the baby name list) is “Bella”.
Sometimes people feel uncomfortable naming the dog after people since they are not people. Here are the top dog names with non-human names (i.e. with < 50 babies born in NYC with that name within the last five years). I am a bit partial to the cookie related names.
Finally, if you are having a child of the human sort, it is unlikely you will be naming your kid after a dog. Here is a comparison of the top baby names to the number of dog names.
Where to Live
Some people move to an area because of the nightlife. Others move because of the school district. If you are a true dog parent, you will move to where is best for your pup.
I decided to lend a helping hand by looking at the data. I used three criteria:
Poop & Scoop: The density of dog waste bins and bags freely available.
Ruff Area: How are the other dogs you might play with behave. Is there a relative high number of dog bites vs the number of dogs?
Run Wild: The density of dog runs and other areas to have the dog leash-less.
Here are the top 10 zip codes for dog according to the data:
10002, with its many little parks scattered throughout, is the best area. It has been especially helped by small green spaces scattered throughout.
Using the same criteria, I have also determined the worst zip codes for a dog:
10065 in the Upper East Side is a bit ruff for a dog, especially if you are closer to 2nd and 1st avenue. You are a bit a distance (for a small dog) from Central Park, and you best remember a baggie.
MayorModel
You could say this mayor’s race is dog eat dog.
Seriously though, it is getting quite competitive. With no clear top candidate, there is a balance between steeling votes and getting ranked highly from others’ votes. Advantage Kathryn Garcia since most of the candidates have said nice things about her when they thought she was out of it. Now that she is back in the race, saying something negative towards her would require backtracking earlier comments. We have never had a politician do that before.
I have also been asked a few times how the Dianne Morales situation will impact this race. In short: not much.
Morales was already unlikely to win, so her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rank choices were going to come into play no matter way. If this were 2013, where the most votes wins, Wiley would be the beneficiary of this debacle. She might gain a little momentum, but she was already going to receive about 50% of Morales’ second place votes anyway.
To subscribe to future newsletters, click here.
For more content, follow 2xParked on Twitter @2xParked.
Comments? Suggestions? Questions? Email me at 2xParked@gmail.com.