2xParked #63

Go New York Go

“So what’d I miss? What’d I miss?” ~ Thomas Jefferson, Hamilton (2015)

Hello, data friends. It is Adam from 2xParked, and I am back from an extended vacation¹.

If you ever needed a reminder of how great this city can be, I hope you were standing outside last night around 11:30 PM. The mass euphoria in a sea of blue and orange was something I had not experienced in my 16 years here. Sporting my Frank Ntilikina #11 jersey, I spent 10 minutes crossing a single city avenue, repeating the password "three more" to inch forward. When the Knicks are winning, the buzz in the city is a candle against the stresses of the day, even if only for a moment.

Since I last wrote²… The mayor did what? The president said what? The Knicks are still playing? The Mets, well, are still the Mets.

Upon vacationing to the birthplace of democracy, I started to get excited for the nationwide America 250 celebrations. With summer temps now in full throttle, I have a renewed sense of energy. I am reliving the first initiatives of the mayor. I am catching up on what the president has been saying. I have seen the arc of a January slump to a Knicks’ 1-0 Finals lead. The Mets are still the Mets.

In Athens, you can’t hide from the Acropolis.

Between then and now, I drafted a half dozen posts, but I deemed them too cynical to publish. I recently reread those unpublished posts. They upheld the integrity of 2xParked. They presented data regarding our beloved City and a probabilistic guide on how you can be a good data analyst. They were good bite-size pieces that preached on process, not editorial. They were not cynical. The data’s story just was not overly optimistic.

Even today, the story remains bleak. Nearly 1 in 3 New Yorkers feel our best days are behind us. According to a recent Siena poll, a majority of New Yorkers believe we are going in the wrong direction in terms of addressing big issues such as cost of living, affordable housing, affordable prices, crime reduction, and protecting constitutional rights. These are the types of issues where if a politician says they have a fix through catchy videos, charming quips, or social posts, you are being flat-out lied to.

This is why I am excited to return. Analyzing data, on top of voting, is my way of contributing to democracy. These are tough issues, but there is a lot of data to analyze whether a snazzy catchphrase will present a meaningfully good plan.

In an era where populism dominates both the left and the right, especially within the borders of our five boroughs, we the voters need to take responsibility for who we elect. As the ancient Greeks taught us thousands of years ago, this is a sacred power we should not take for granted. This requires work, and sometimes really hard work. If we find it easy, then we need to bear some responsibility if things go wrong. We need to put in the work.

I am optimistic we will. With the right data, we can think about what is best for the whole as opposed to the self. With the right data, we can adhere to rules of logic and find out how to balance emotion and vibe into our mental equation. With the right data, we can be willing to change our opinion when new information presents itself. I am excited to help guide you through the data.

What to Expect

One thing I learned from my past as “Adam from 2xParked” is to lean into the “Adam” part as opposed to the entity, “2xParked.” This allows me to be a bit more human, which will hopefully be more fun for me to write and for you to read.

Last month, I led a Jane’s Walk tour on the origins of baseball³. On my tour, participants learned about legendary Brooklyn resident, Baseball Hall of Famer, and sports journalist Henry Chadwick. Chadwick invented the modern box score, a small square in the newspaper which tells the story to non-attendees of a complete 9-inning game that is still used 150+ years later. Chadwick felt his duty as a journalist was to provide the facts, and that the readers could editorialize from those facts.

I feel that this is my duty as well. I will not tell you what to think. I will tell you what the data is, how you can interpret what it says, and point you toward opportunities to do your own research to fill in the blanks.

What I Expect from You

I value, most of all, your engagement. This is what makes it fun, and there are many ways to engage:

• Keep reading my posts! Knowing you are clicking and reading is enough for me to continue, and I am very appreciative.

• Subscribe if you have not yet! Oh look, a convenient button:

• Share with someone who has not subscribed! Oh look, other convenient buttons:

• Email me at 2xParked@gmail.com. Many of my threads are from your ideas. I am always happy for you to pitch a question.

• Comment as well in the post.

• You can also follow me on X/Twitter and Instagram (@2xParked for both). Although I don’t use them much, I might someday. Who knows?

Up Next

I already have a few topics on the docket, but feel free to suggest more. Here is where my mind is now:

• Government price-controlled grocery stores: good, bad, or ugly idea?

• Should we expand or contract City Council?

• Are the Mets bad, unlucky, or cursed?

• NYC.gov department websites: an editorial review of their data story

• Poll reviews as we head to primary day and midterms.

Sprinkled in there will be lots of polls, sports, TV/movies, subway, Seinfeld, and food discussions, all from a data and NYC perspective.

A win in game 1 does not mean a series victory, but it does mean there is hope for one. We know NYC can be great; we have experienced some true highs. I want to look at the data so we can not just keep it that way but make it even better.

Hear from me soon,

Adam from 2xParked

1. It is akin to when Gossip Girl, after seasons of exile in the hands of multiple folks, including Serena and Georgina, returned back to form. XOXO.

2. Revisiting my prior posts, I questioned the precision of the polls in Mamdani vs. Cuomo. The “Undecided/ I Don’t Know” seemed a bit too high for my liking. Although I will contend that the polls were still the best and most accurate data source, my confidence was low in their precision. I will take a pat on the back for this.

3. Reach out at 2xParked@gmail.com if you want your own tour as well. It was a lot of fun exploring baseball and Brooklyn history, and the more people I can get, the better the tour will be.