On Thursday morning, six demonstrators were arrested while protesting outside their offices in New York City. The protest aimed to spotlight businesses engaged in controversial practices that facilitate the deportation of immigrants in the United States.
The activists gathered in front of the Palantir office located on Manhattan Avenue, linking their arms to obstruct the building’s entrance, effectively stopping several individuals attempting to pass. At one point, some protesters entered the lobby of the building, holding signs that read “Palantir Powers ICE,” referencing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Organized by Planet over Profit, a climate justice organization that addresses systemic inequality, the protest received support from the immigration rights group Mijente. After approximately an hour, police intervened, dispersing the crowd. The six arrested individuals were subsequently taken to the seventh precinct and released by 11:20 AM.
Protesters are arrested outside Palantir’s New York office. Photo: Luigi Morris
Caroline Chouinard, a Brooklyn resident among those arrested, stated that police began zip-tying individuals before fully complying with dispersal commands. Chouinard mentioned that some people identifying themselves as Palantir employees also physically advanced on the protesters. Video footage taken by Planet representatives did not confirm if those pushing the protesters were indeed Palantir employees. Chouinard was released on a subpoena for a court appearance regarding disorderly conduct charges.
“During the arrest, we faced significant physical violence,” Chouinard told the Guardian. “I didn’t plan to get arrested personally. I positioned my body to stand my ground. I was continually pushed down and grabbed.”
Chouinard expressed their reason for attending the protest was to oppose Palantir’s role in enabling institutions that “have harmed my neighbor and made them disappear.”
“We are interrupting Palantir’s normal operations because it doesn’t belong in NYC to create AI that strengthens and streamlines fascism,” Chouinard stated. “Palantir specializes in monitoring and tracking individuals. It’s our duty to keep them accountable. They collaborate with the Trump administration, ICE, and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). From New York to Los Angeles, fear is perpetuated by companies like Palantir.”
The company has not yet responded to requests for comments regarding the protest.
Protesters are demonstrating outside Palantir’s New York office. Photo: Luigi Morris
Founded in 2003 by billionaire investor Peter Thiel and currently led by CEO Alex Karp, Palantir, known for data mining, has garnered criticism due to its increasing contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies. In April, Palantir received a $30 million contract to develop an immigration surveillance platform for ICE, aimed at expediting the identification and apprehension of targeted immigrants. This contract adds to previous ICE contracts, with Palantir first awarded one during the Obama administration in 2014, subsequently renewed multiple times. The company is set to assist in creating “Mega APIs” for data access within the Internal Revenue Service.
In a letter sent in mid-June, ten Democrats highlighted that Palantir’s initiative to construct a “mega-database” for the Trump administration would combine personal information from multiple government sources, risking violations of federal privacy laws according to reports from the New York Times.
The company refuted the claims made by the Democrats’ letter, asserting: “To clarify: Palantir does not create a master database, nor do we enable extensive surveillance of American citizens. We do not manage the system or determine its applications.”
Protesters did not expect any response from Palantir concerning their demands to cease collaborations with ICE or other federal entities. According to Liv Senghor, the lead organizer from Planet over Profit, their focus was on mobilizing “the average American.”
“We want everyday individuals who value freedom of speech and privacy to recognize how deeply ingrained Palantir is in not just our government and military, but also in our everyday lives,” Senghor stated. “Our objective is to stir sufficient anger and frustration toward Palantir, inciting a grassroots movement of common people who can be heard.”
The protest organizers are also planning to hold a demonstration in front of Palantir’s Palo Alto office on Thursday afternoon.
New York City’s skyline may undergo significant changes as major cities continue to sink.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
Over 20 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States are experiencing subsidence, impacting thousands of structures and millions of residents.
This phenomenon has been noted especially in coastal areas. However, utilizing satellite technology that gauges the duration it takes radar signals to reach the Earth’s surface and return, researchers discovered that 25 out of the 28 largest cities in the country are affected.
“By analyzing multiple images taken over time from the same region, we can identify subtle vertical shifts in the ground that can reach several millimeters annually,” explains team member Manoochehr Shirzaei from Virginia Tech. “It’s akin to capturing a high-resolution time lapse of the Earth’s surface, revealing whether it is rising or sinking over time.”
Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas demonstrate the highest rates of subsidence among major cities, averaging over 4 millimeters per year. Cities like New York, Chicago, Houston, Columbus, Seattle, and Denver show average subsidence rates surpassing 2 millimeters annually.
“Houston, the fastest sinking city among the 28 most populous in the US, has 42% of its land area sinking at rates greater than 5 mm per year, with 12% sinking faster than 10 mm annually,” researchers reported.
Most subsidence is attributed to groundwater extraction, although cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, primarily experience sinking due to “glacial isoplasm regulation.”
“During the last glacial period, these regions were covered by massive ice sheets. The considerable weight of the ice compressed the Earth’s crust, akin to resting on a memory foam mattress,” says Shirzaei. As the ice melted thousands of years ago, the pressure released and the terrain began to slowly recover,” he explains.
“However, this rebound isn’t uniform,” Shirzaei notes. “In some areas, particularly along the East Coast and in the Midwest, the land is subsiding rather than rising due to the residual weight of nearby ice and their proximity to regions currently collapsing.”
In Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, plate tectonics may account for some of the subsidence.
“We must address sinking as a gradually unfolding disaster,” Shirzaei argues. Researchers also noted that cities can sink at varying rates in different locations or sink continuously in one area while other regions remain stable. “This uneven movement can create angular distortions and stress, resulting in cracks in walls and foundations, misalignments in windows and doors, or even significant structural failures,” Shirzaei warns.
Jesse Cars from Kyoto University in Japan demonstrated similar findings using satellite data, showing that many cities in New Zealand are also experiencing subsidence. “A crucial challenge for the geophysical community remains understanding how the observed trends stem from particular causes, whether they are artificial or naturally occurring geological processes,” he states.
Concerns are escalating among actors and experts after video evidence obtained by BBC Science Focus revealed that a New York City poultry market is neglecting essential safety measures to protect both staff and the public amid rising bird flu cases in the state.
The footage showcases employees at various locations in Queens handling birds without the minimal recommended personal protective equipment (PPE).
This revelation comes shortly after city officials ordered a temporary closure of over 80 poultry markets following the identification of avian flu cases in February.
Despite efforts by the New York State Department of Agricultural Markets to test birds for the virus before entering the live markets, conditions have raised alarms among advocates, as not adhering to biosecurity protocols could lead to further spread.
Taken from a video at the entrance to the live poultry market in Queens, New York, on April 13, 2025, this shows workers without masks and insufficient PPE. They are seen wearing only one glove, and possibly touching their faces with uncovered hands. – Crystal Heath
Doctor Crystal Heath, the veterinarian who filmed the footage, indicated that “These live poultry markets do not adhere to basic biosecurity protocols.” He emphasized the role of official negligence in allowing these sites to compromise public health.
Edita Birnkrant, executive director of Animal Rights New Yorker, a nonprofit organization, has inspected numerous markets, declaring that conditions within them pose risks to both workers and customers.
“Anyone walking by could be exposed to pathogens,” she noted in an interview with BBC Science Focus.
Both Heath and Birnkrant have urged public health officials to take decisive actions to mitigate the risk of avian flu in New York’s poultry markets, warning that locations in densely populated areas pose significant public health threats.
Heath explained that these markets bring together multiple bird species, creating an optimal setting for the virus to interact with other strains of influenza, potentially leading to new variants that could spread between humans.
Footage captured by Heath highlights clear violations of biosecurity recommendations. The New York Ministry of Agriculture Markets indicated to BBC Science Focus on April 15 that best practices for live poultry markets should include:
Discouraging unnecessary visitors
Utilizing biosecurity signs to prevent unauthorized entry
Ensuring footwear is covered and disinfected for visitors
Screening visitors for recent bird contact
Reporting any abnormal, sick, or deceased birds to authorities.
Captured from a video taken outside another live poultry market in Queens, New York, on April 13, 2025, this shows individuals leaving the market without any protective gear. The facility’s doors are wide open, allowing public access. – Crystal Heath
In response to inquiries from BBC Science Focus, New York State Health Department Director Dr. James MacDonald stated there is “no immediate threat to public health” and that no confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been reported among humans in New York. However, he advised those regularly in contact with livestock and wild birds to exercise caution by wearing PPE.
Despite these warnings, the Health Department has confirmed that there are currently no plans to mandate PPE use in New York’s live poultry markets.
While no human cases have been documented in New York thus far, over 70 infections have occurred nationwide, with some leading to fatalities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that there is no confirmed human-to-human transmission, asserting that the general public remains at low risk.
Nonetheless, experts caution that each time a virus successfully infects a person, it presents potential for evolution. Research indicates that single mutations in the H5N1 strain responsible for ongoing outbreaks could facilitate easier human transmission.
Professor Jarra Jagne, a poultry expert and veterinarian affiliated with the US Department of Agriculture’s Livebird Market Working Group, stated that while PPE usage is highly encouraged, there are currently no legal mandates for its use.
This was taken from a video captured at the third live poultry market in Queens, New York, on April 13, 2025, showing individuals without masks or other PPE. The entrance to this market was also open to the public. – Crystal Heath
“We advise that these viruses can infect humans, and we recommend wearing masks and changing clothes when visiting the market,” she stated. “Ultimately, it’s a personal choice.”
Jagne emphasized the concern of irregular PPE use, but noted that New York’s live bird markets are better regulated than they were in the past. Regulations now dictate bird sourcing, handling, and testing procedures.
“Conditions used to be dire,” she remarked. “New York has more markets than any other state, and we had to lead the charge. For many years, flu cases in these markets have been minimal.”
Currently, flocks must be tested 72 hours prior to their market entry, with additional testing conducted upon arrival. However, Jagne pointed out that even rigorous testing cannot eliminate the wide array of risks, particularly as wild birds continue to circulate the virus across the nation.
The presence of unprotected customers in these markets poses a significant vulnerability. “Perhaps markets should provide masks at the entrance, similar to what we did during Covid,” Jagne suggested.
The poultry market featured in Heath’s video has not responded to requests for comment from BBC Science Focus.
About our experts
Crystal Heath: A veterinarian specializing in shelter medicine and high-quality castration neutrality (HQHVSN), and co-founder of Our Honor, a nonprofit organization focused on animal rights.
Edita Birnkrant: Executive director of Animal Rights New Yorker, a nonprofit established in 2008 with a mission to advocate for animal rights, including saving NYC carriage horses and promoting the Animal Rights Act.
James MacDonald MD, MPH: A health committee member of the New York State Department of Health. Before joining the department in July 2022, MacDonald worked with the Rhode Island Department of Health since 2012.
Jarra Jagne: A Practical Professor in the Public and Ecosystem Health Department at Cornell University’s Veterinary Medicine Department, with research published in journals like International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Avian Diseases, and Avian Pathology.
Editor’s Notes
This article is based on footage and information gathered during an independent investigation into live poultry market practices. All content is sourced legally and reviewed to adhere to editorial standards. To protect privacy, identifying details have been removed or obscured. The footage was filmed in a public setting; individuals or businesses depicted are not meant to be misrepresented, and every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and fairness.
Late yesterday, Seturaman Panchanathan, whom President Trump hired to run the National Science Foundation five years ago, left. He didn’t say why, but it was clear enough. Last weekend, Trump cut more than 400 active research awards from the NSF, and he is pressing Congress to halve Congress’ $9 billion budget.
The Trump administration has targeted American scientific companies, an engine of research and innovation that has been inducted for decades. The National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and NASA are cutting or frozen budgets. Thousands of researchers have been fired or paid back.
The confusion is confusing. Isn’t science an eternal power? Does it contain disease? Would it help you compete with China? Why not attract the kind of immigrants the president says he wants? In this edition of the newsletter, you will break the huge thing to understand the fuss.
investment
American research thrives under a sponsorship system that highlights dollars that Congress has approved to universities, national labs and labs. The Knowledge Factory employs tens of thousands of researchers, bringing talent from around the world, creating scientific breakthroughs and Nobel Prizes.
Science moves slowly, so it’s a slow moving system. Discoveries are often indirect and repetitive, and include collaboration between researchers who require years of granted education to become experts. Startups and businesses that need quick returns on investments are usually unable to wait long for long money or risk.
Science is capital. With some measures, all dollars spent on research will return at least $5 to the economy.
President Trump is not patient. He reimbursed university research into AIDS, pediatric cancer and solar physics. (Two well-known researchers compiled the list Lost NIH grants and NSF Awards. ) The administration has also fired thousands of federal scientists, including meteorologists from the National Weather Service. CDC’s pandemic preparation expert. A black researcher at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Already built for $3.5 billion over a decade, the next generation space observatory is waiting for a launch that could never happen now.
Alienate scientists
Administrative authorities provide various reasons for the crackdown: cost reduction, government efficiency, and “protecting women from gender ideological extremism.” Many grants have been eliminated because they include terms such as climate, diversity, disability, trans, or women. Some portrayed the administration’s rage, as the application included a DEI statement requested by the previous administration.
You don’t need a telescope to see where this leads. American leaders have historically seen science as an investment in the future. Will this administration seize it? One third of American Nobel Prize winners were foreign-born, but immigration crackdowns wiped out scientists like Xenia Petrova, a Russian who ages at Harvard University and is now sitting in a detention center in Louisiana. Australian scholars have stopped attending conferences in the US for fear of being detained, The Guardian reported.
Now, some American scientists are looking for an exit. France, Canada and other countries are courting our researchers. A recent poll by Nature magazine found that more than 1,200 American scientists were considering working abroad. Journal recruitment platforms were seen 32% of overseas positions more applications Between January and March 2025, this was higher than the same period last year.
President Trump’s tariffs had raised concerns about Apple’s manufacturing in China even before they threatened to disrupt it. This, coupled with the company’s struggle to innovate, has led to doubts within its Silicon Valley headquarters about its magic.
The introduction of tariffs on April 2nd led to a $773 billion loss in market capitalization in just four days, temporarily dethroning Apple as the world’s most valuable public company. Investors were already showing signs of dissatisfaction, with the stock dropping by 8% in the first four months of the year, outpacing the S&P 500’s decline.
Apple’s attempts to turn its fortunes around with products like virtual reality headsets, Vision Pro, and AI systems called Apple Intelligence have been met with disappointment. The headset sales were lackluster and the AI system’s key features faced delays due to functionality issues.
These challenges highlight the erosion of Apple’s reputation for innovation, causing anxiety and dissatisfaction among employees. Insiders fear that the company is mired in political infighting, cost-cutting, and talent drain, despite years of being a magnet for top talent.
Apple declined to provide a comment on the situation.
It’s been a decade since Apple’s last major commercial successes with the Apple Watch and AirPods. New services like Apple TV+ and Fitness+, launched in 2019, are lagging behind their subscription-based competitors. The iPhone, now 18 years old and accounting for half of Apple’s sales, continues to see incremental improvements annually.
While Vision Pro’s sales disappointed, Apple’s struggles with Apple Intelligence have revealed dysfunction within the company.
Last summer, Apple showcased AI products that could summarize notifications and provide enhanced writing tools for emails and messaging. However, the new iPhone shipped without the AI features as planned due to inaccuracies discovered during internal testing. This led to the postponement of the enhanced SIRI release.
After the delay, Apple’s software chief announced plans to restructure the executive team, shifting responsibility from AI head John Giannandrea to Vision Pro Headset leader Microcwell.
Technology analyst Michael Gartenberg, a former Apple product marketer, expressed concerns about the company’s handling of Apple Intelligence, calling it a case of overestimation and lack of boundaries.
Reports on changes within Apple’s SIRI team and challenges were previously covered by sources like Bloomberg and information.
Apple’s AI efforts faced setbacks in early 2023, with Giannandrea scrambling to procure GPUs for AI development, highlighting the lack of resources compared to competitors like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta.
Apple’s struggles with AI development were compounded by a shortage of GPUs, forcing teams to rely on external providers like Google and Amazon for computing power.
Disagreements within Apple’s software teams and leadership clashes contributed to delays and challenges in launching new AI capabilities like Siri.
The departure of key Apple design and product development leaders has left the company with a mix of experienced and inexperienced executives in critical roles.
Apple’s lack of clear leadership and communication has been cited as a major factor contributing to its current challenges in product development.
Despite setbacks, Apple plans to release an improved Siri virtual assistant in the fall, aiming to address previous shortcomings.
While delays have raised concerns among some Apple leaders, others believe it’s crucial to get AI right, even if it takes time to perfect.
In New York, 12 US copyright lawsuits against Openai and Microsoft have been consolidated, with authors and news outlets suing the companies for centralization.
According to a Transfer order from the U.S. Judicial Commission on Multi-District Litigation, centralization can help coordinate findings, streamline pretrial litigation, and eliminate inconsistent rulings.
Prominent authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Michael Chabon, Junot Díaz, and comedian Sarah Silverman brought the incident to California, but it will now be moved to New York to join news outlets such as The New York Times. Other authors like John Grisham, George Sounders, Jonathan Franzen, and Jody Picoll are also involved in the lawsuits.
Although most plaintiffs opposed the merger, the transfer order addresses factual questions related to allegations that Openai and Microsoft used copyrighted works without consent to train large-scale language models (LLM) for AI products like Openai’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s copylot.
Openai initially proposed consolidating the cases in Northern California, but the Judiciary Committee moved them to the Southern District of New York for the convenience of parties and witnesses and to ensure a fair and efficient conduct of the case.
High-tech companies argue that using copyrighted works to train AI falls under the doctrine of “fair use,” but many plaintiffs, including authors and news outlets, believe otherwise.
An Openai spokesperson welcomed the development, stating that they train on publicly available data to support innovation. On the other hand, a lawyer representing Daily News looks forward to proving in court that Microsoft and Openai have infringed on their copyrights.
Some of the authors suing Openai have also filed suits against meta for copyright infringement in AI model training. Court filings in January revealed allegations against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for approving the use of copyrighted materials in AI training.
Amazon recently announced a new Kindle feature called “Recaps” that uses AI to generate summaries of books for readers. While the company sees it as a convenience for readers, some users have raised concerns about the accuracy of AI-generated summaries.
The UK government is addressing peer and labor concerns about copyright proposals, and companies are being urged to assess the economic impact of their AI plans.
The New York County Clerk recently prevented Texas doctors from taking legal action against New York doctors to provide abortion pills to Texas women.
This groundbreaking decision escalates the interstate abortion conflict to a new level, setting the stage for a legal showdown between states with differing views on abortion rights.
The dispute is expected to reach the Supreme Court, pitting Texas against New York. Texas has almost completely banned abortion. New York, on the other hand, has a Shield Law in place to protect abortion providers who supply medications to patients in other states.
Since the Supreme Court overturned the national abortion right in 2022, eight states, including New York, have implemented the Telehealth Abortion Shield Act. This law prohibits authorities from surrendering abortion providers to other states or complying with legal actions such as subpoenas.
The New York County Clerk’s action marks the first use of the Abortion Shield Act to oppose out-of-state judgments.
Dr. Margaret Daly Carpenter, based in New Paltz, New York, is involved in this case. She collaborates with telehealth abortion organizations to provide abortion medications nationally. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dr. Carpenter in December for allegedly sending abortion pills to Texan women in violation of the state’s ban.
Dr. Carpenter and her legal team did not appear at a Texas court hearing last month. Consequently, Collin County District Court Judge Brian Gant issued a default ruling, imposing a $113,000 fine on Dr. Carpenter and mandating the sending of abortion pills to Texas.
Citing the New York Shield Act, Ulster County’s Deputy Clerk Taylor Brook refused to process Texas’ motion for enforcing the Collin County order. He also declined to file a subpoena demanding payment of the penalty and compliance with the Texas ruling.
“In accordance with the New York State Shield Act, I reject this submission and any similar future submissions,” Brooke stated in a release. “This decision may lead to additional legal action, and we must refrain from discussing specific case details at this time.”
Texas Attorney General Paxton has vowed to continue his efforts. He criticized New York for not cooperating in enforcing civil judgments against abortion providers who allegedly cross state lines with dangerous drugs.
Legal experts anticipate that Texas may challenge the Shield Act in New York state or federal courts next.
New York Attorney General Letitia James previously issued guidance to courts and officials statewide on adhering to the Shield Act’s requirements and restrictions.
“I commend the Ulster County Clerk for upholding the law,” James declared. “The New York Shield Act safeguards patients and providers from out-of-state attacks on reproductive rights. We must not allow anyone to hinder healthcare professionals from delivering essential care to patients. My office will always stand with New York healthcare providers and the individuals they serve.”
Texas became the first state to take legal action against abortion providers from other states using Shield laws. In a separate case, Louisiana also filed criminal charges against a Shield Act abortion provider earlier this year.
In the recent past, Louisiana officials requested Dr. Carpenter’s extradition, a request that New York Governor Kathy Hochul promptly rejected.
“We will not authorize the extradition request from the Louisiana governor,” affirmed Hochul.
Dr. Carpenter and her legal team have refrained from commenting on the Texas and Louisiana cases. The Abortion Alliance for Telemedicine, an organization co-founded by Dr. Carpenter, issued a statement expressing support for the Shield Act. “The Shield Act is crucial in ensuring access to abortion care regardless of location or financial status,” the coalition emphasized. “It upholds the fundamental right to reproductive healthcare for all individuals.”
The Telemedicine Abortion Shield Act has become a vital tool for advocates of abortion rights. Health providers in states where abortion is legal send over 10,000 abortion medications each month to patients in states with restrictive laws.
The Texas lawsuit against Dr. Carpenter accuses her of providing a 20-year-old woman with mifepristone and misoprostol, standard abortion medications used up to 12 weeks into pregnancy. Mifepristone blocks necessary pregnancy hormones, while misoprostol induces contractions akin to a miscarriage 24-48 hours later.
According to a complaint from the Texas Attorney General’s office, a woman nine weeks pregnant sought emergency care in July due to bleeding. The woman’s partner suspected that the miscarriage was induced by the woman’s mother and found abortion medications provided by Carpenter at their home.
During a court session in Colin County, Ernest C. Garcia from the Texas Attorney General’s Office revealed that the woman’s partner had lodged a complaint.
Paleontologists from the New York State Museum and New York University Orange, New York, unearthed the fossilized remains of an adult mastodon near Scotchtown, New York, USA.
A fossilized adult mastodon jaw discovered near Scotchtown, New York, USA. Image credit: New York State Museum.
mastodon any species of extinct proboscis in the genus mammut.
Although often confused with mammoths, they are more distantly related to living elephants.
These animals diverged from their elephant ancestors about 27-25 million years ago (Oligocene epoch).
They roamed widely throughout North America as well as surrounding areas such as the tropics of Honduras and the Arctic coast of Alaska until they finally became extinct about 11,000 years ago.
Currently, eight species are recognized, including the famous American mastodon (mammut americanum), widely distributed in nearly every state in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
A well-preserved jaw, part of a toe bone, and rib fragments from an adult mastodon were discovered in the backyard of a home near Scotchtown in Orange County, New York.
The fossils were recovered by a team of paleontologists from the New York State Museum and the State University of New York at Orange.
“The jaw of an adult mastodon was discovered protruding from the topsoil, drawing the attention of homeowners and sparking research that will continue to uncover scientific insights for years to come,” they said. Ta.
“The discovery began when the homeowner found two teeth hidden in the leaves of a plant on the property.”
“Upon further investigation, the homeowner unearthed two more teeth just a few inches underground.”
“This important discovery will deepen our understanding of the region's Ice Age inhabitants and highlight the wealth of prehistoric wonders yet to be discovered.”
“When we found the tooth and held it in our hands to examine it, we knew it was something special and decided to call in the experts,” said the resident, who had a prehistoric treasure guarded in his backyard.
“We are thrilled that our property has led to such important discoveries for the scientific community.”
“Although the jaw is the star, additional fragments of toes and ribs provide valuable context and potential for further study,” said researcher Corey Harris-Chair, Ph.D., of the State University of New York at Orange. Ta.
“We also want to further investigate the nearby area to see if there are any more preserved bones.”
More than 150 mastodon fossils have been discovered across the state, about one-third of them in Orange County, an area that remains home to ancient relatives of modern elephants. is a major hotspot.
“This discovery is evidence of New York's rich paleontological history and our continued efforts to understand its past,” said Robert Ferra, Director of Research and Collections and Curator of Ice Age Animals at the New York State Museum. Dr. Neck said.
“This mastodon jaw provides a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this amazing species and will improve our understanding of the region's ice age ecosystems.”
“Fossils are a resource that provide remarkable snapshots of the past, allowing us to reconstruct ancient ecosystems as well as gain better context and understanding of the world around us today.”
“With each discovery like this, we move one step closer to understanding the full story of New York.”
A momentous (or more accurately prehistoric) finding was unearthed just below the Earth’s surface on a New York homeowner’s lawn.
A full mastodon jaw was found in the backyard of a house in Scotchtown, a town in Orange County, as confirmed by state officials. The New York State Museum and the State University of New York at Orange researchers retrieved the jaw and additional bone fragments, as announced by the state Department of Education in a press release on Tuesday.
It has been over 11 years since a discovery of this kind has been made in New York.
The mastodon jaw, presumed to belong to an adult, was discovered by researchers after a homeowner noticed it surfacing on his lawn. Initially, the homeowner found two teeth hidden in plants on the property, and after some digging, two more teeth were discovered.
“Upon finding the tooth and examining it closely, we knew it was unique and decided to seek out an expert,” stated the homeowner.
Following this, museum and university staff conducted an excavation that led to the unveiling of the well-preserved jaw of a mastodon, an ancient relative of present-day elephants. Additionally, part of a toe bone and rib fragments were found.
Mastodon jaw unearthed in backyard in Scotchtown, New York new york state museum
“Though the jaw is the highlight, the additional toe and rib fragments provide valuable context and possibilities for further research,” said Dr. Corey Harris, chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences at New York University at Orange. “We are also keen on exploring the surrounding area to look for more preserved bones.”
The fossil will undergo carbon dating and analysis to determine the mammal’s time of existence in the area, its dietary habits, and habitat details. The discovery will be showcased on public television as of 2025 and is expected to be featured in magazines.
“This finding proves New York’s rich paleontological history and our persistent efforts to understand the past,” said Robert Ferra, Director of Research and Collections and Curator of Ice Age Animals at the New York State Museum. Dr. Neck mentioned, “This mastodon jaw offers a unique chance to study the ecology of this extraordinary species and enhance our comprehension of the ice age ecosystems in the region.”
To date, approximately 150 mastodon fossils have been found in New York, with about one-third of them located in Orange County.
THoused inside a glass box in the chapel on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, the “Quantum Chandelier” is the symbolic centerpiece of an ambitious effort to transform upstate New York into a tech hub — something like Silicon Valley for social media or Cambridge, Massachusetts, for biotechnology.
The silvery sci-fi object, named for the internal gold lattice that mounts, cools and isolates the processors, will be the heart of a “quantum computing system” that will herald a new era of computing. It’s the heart of Curtis Prime’s dream, co-founder of Nvidia, a $2.8 trillion artificial intelligence hardware and software company, to transform Rensselaer (RPI) into an advanced computing hub, remaking this part of upstate New York into a new Silicon Valley.
Priem has invested a significant amount of his wealth into building the Curtis Priem Quantum Constellation, a workshop where RPI students can envision the future of quantum computing. Just as his partners at Nvidia, where he served as the company’s first chief technology officer, allowed him to freely imagine the graphics chip architecture that will power the AI revolution, he hopes his investment will spark a new era of computational innovation in the region.
Prime believes the area along the Hudson Valley, from Yorktown Heights, home to IBM’s Quantum Research Institute, to Troy, home to the RPI/SUNY nanotech complex, to Syracuse, where Micron is building a massive $100 billion fab complex, will be the future home of U.S. computer technology.
To that end, he’s thinking beyond concerns about artificial intelligence and the success of Nvidia’s H100 graphics processing unit (GPU), which powers 90% of generative AI systems.
There are two RPI students on campus. Photo: Gregory Sherin
Wall Street has become skeptical of technology. AI has caused billions of dollars of losses, and Wall Street is disheartened by the idea that new technology is going to change the world. But the same thing happened with the internet overbuild of the 1990s, which went through booms and busts before eventually paying off.
In theory, quantum technology could solve in seconds problems that take today’s supercomputers decades to solve, unlocking secrets about the behavior of molecules, the genetic code, weather forecasting and, of more recent concern, cracking the encryption systems that underpin the internet.
UUntil recently, visitors to New York essentially had two options. A hotel room or a short-term rental platform like Airbnb. But in September 2023, the city began enforcing a 2022 law that prohibits people from renting a home for less than 30 days (unless the host stays in the home with a guest).
Currently, hotel rooms are the only legitimate option for people visiting the city, but they are out of reach for many. Most Times Square hotels don’t have rooms for less than $300 a night. Searches on Thursday, May 2nd found Muse for $356, Hampton Inn for $323, and Hard Rock for $459 (but due to dynamic pricing, these can change regularly). They become more expensive. Hotel prices rose at twice the rate of inflation from the first quarter of this year to the first quarter of 2023, said Jan Freitag, an analyst at real estate data firm Coster Group.
Many visitors and New Yorkers are turning to the underground rental market, where Facebook groups, Craigslist posts, Instagram listings, and reviews have become the go-to for finding short-term rentals in the five boroughs.
If you have friends in New York, you’ve probably seen their Instagram stories. “Hello everyone! I’m renting out my room in my 5-bed apartment to him again for 4 days over Easter! I have to deal with a dog and a rude roommate! DM me if you’re interested!”
Other travelers headed to New Jersey, making the kaleidoscopic city across the Hudson the nation’s fastest-growing Airbnb demand market, according to analytics site AirDNA. Other companies are snapping up hotels, which are expected to become even more expensiven the coming years. For many tourists, a good answer to the so-called Airbnb ban has not yet been found.
Yoya Busquets, 56, had been considering an Airbnb in New Jersey, but she really wants to stay there when she visits from Barcelona with her husband and two teenage daughters in early September. . She took a quick peek at her Facebook, where she chatted on Messenger with some people advertising short-term rentals. The last time she visited New York was in 2012, when she stayed at an Airbnb in Brooklyn, and she hopes to have a similar experience. She might get lucky.
“I’ve been in contact with a girl who has a room available for a week, and it’s listed on Airbnb as in New Jersey, but when I contacted her, she said it was in Brooklyn,” she said.
The apartment happened to be close to the area she had previously stayed in and was within her $160 per night budget. Considering the cost of a hotel and the space her daughters needed to relax after a busy day, it was the best option she found. But that setup is probably in violation of the new law, which is why the apartment is listed in Jersey.
Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn. For a hotel, “you have to pay about $400 a night, and we don’t have that kind of money,” said one New Yorker who tried to accommodate his parents. Photo: Ryan DeBerardinis/Alamy
AirDNA, which tracks data from short-term rental sites like Airbnb and Vrbo, says listings for stays of less than 30 days have declined by 83% since August 2023, when the regulations began taking effect. At one time in New York City he had 22,200 short-term properties available. That number currently stands at just 3,700, according to AirDNA.
Tesin Parra, 24, was looking for a job that would allow her to continue living in the United States after completing her thesis and classes, while also looking for a place for her family to stay as she graduates from New York University in May. Program for Journalism.
“This is their first time in New York City, so I want them to have a good experience,” Para, who is originally from India, said of her parents and grandmother. “She wanted to do an Airbnb so she could also cook,” she said.So she was disappointed when she learned that short-term rentals weren’t really an option anymore.
Parra wants a place with space for her family to gather. As a sign of her gratitude and respect, she wants to cover the cost of her family’s accommodation and has budgeted around $200 (£160) per night for a week-long stay.
“I’m kind of stuck as to what to do,” Parra said. “Probably a hotel, but I’d have to pay about $400 a night, and I don’t have that kind of money.”
Now, with the double stress of finishing school and facing hotel bills she can’t afford, she’s at a crossroads. She either chooses a hotel, has her parents pay for it, or rents something short-term, which is technically impossible in New York. Legal?
Without the accountability and protection that platforms like Airbnb offer, avoiding scams when searching for short-term rentals has become the norm. So Pala skipped scanning his Craigslist altogether. Currently, she is considering booking an Airbnb in New Jersey, but she worries that the local PATH train traffic will be an inconvenience for her grandmother.
This regulation was passed with the goal of keeping rent prices in check for New Yorkers by putting apartment inventory back on the market, but it is often important for New York renters and homeowners who lived in apartments while still living in apartments. It also cut off a major source of income. Where they were when they were out of town. Some New Yorkers are still looking for ways to bring in funds.
Kathleen, whose last name is withheld for privacy reasons, only recently began renting an East Village apartment on the underground rental market. The 29-year-old travels frequently for her personal finance job and to visit her family in North Carolina. According to her, she’s out of town for about four months a year, and of course, she still has to pay $2,600 a month in rent while she’s away. To make up for some of her lost money, she started connecting with undocumented people through Facebook groups.
In 2015, Airbnb protesters gathered at New York City Hall. Photo: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
“I thoroughly vetted a lot of people,” she said, voicing concerns about how her space would be treated given the lack of protection that short-term rental platforms offer hosts. I made it. She has two guests: her. One is a weekend visitor, the other stays at her apartment for three weeks in the summer. They pay her $50 a night.
“I always have a side hustle,” she said. “If I can make extra money, why not make extra money? I live in a great place. I thought it would be a nice, cute place.”
This is the spot where a visitor like Juan José Tejada could become a champion. Tejada, a wellness influencer from Bogotá, Colombia, is visiting New York for nine days in July with his best friend. He began his location search by looking at hotels, but he soon realized they were too expensive.
“I’m 25 years old. I’m traveling with my best friend. And, you know, we don’t have that much of a budget,” he said. At the suggestion of a cousin who lives in the city, Tejada used Facebook to search for short-term rental properties. What he discovered was four times his budget of $100 to $200 per night. But that wasn’t the only problem.
“When I was looking for short-term rental properties, the payment situation was a little tough,” Tejada said. Not in Colombia. “
Tejada and her friend ended up booking a hostel called Hi New York City on the Upper West Side, which cost about $55 a night for a bunk room with a shared bathroom. was. Tejada said she considered Airbnb, which has an on-site host, but couldn’t find a suitable option. It’s not the apartment he dreamed of breezed in and out of as if he were a local, but it’s good enough.
People are coming up with their own solutions for short stays. On Instagram, there are accounts like Book That Sublet NYC, where over 4,000 followers tune in to frequently posted daily and weekly sublets, as well as endless “sublets.”Book my apartment!“, or an apartment exchange callout shared on Instagram Stories. And there are long-standing apartment exchange sites like HomeExchange and HomeLink that offer visitors another way to get their foot in the door of a city apartment.
Supporters of the new regulations thought that limiting short-term rentals would bring long-term rentals back onto the market and perhaps help lower rents in the notoriously expensive city. Jamie Lane, chief economist at AirDNA, said after nearly seven months, there was still no widespread impact.
Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel, said that although a small number of apartments have returned to the rental market since the law was changed, mortgage rates remain high and mortgage rates are declining. He explained that this is because it has been gradually increasing since its inception. In 2017, prospective buyers refrained from making purchases for the time being, and rents rose.
Parra, a New York University student, doesn’t think the regulations are the most effective way to address New York’s housing crisis. “I don’t understand how this regulation makes sense. Not in terms of relieving the burden of the number of Airbnbs, but considering that New York City is an immigrant city. ‘Is it fair?’ she said.
But Busquets, who will be visiting in September, has seen firsthand the impact of tourism and short-term rentals on the world-renowned destination.
“I come from a city where the Airbnb craziness is actually displacing local residents and people who have lived there for years,” she said. “The owners wanted to keep people who were there just for short-term rentals because it was more profitable.”
Busquets said Airbnb made Barcelona uninhabitable and she eventually left for the suburbs herself. She added: “It’s changed. It’s not the same city it was 10, 15 years ago.”
Inmates at New York State’s Woodbourne Correctional Facility will finally have the opportunity to view Monday’s solar eclipse, as announced by lawyers representing the inmates who filed a lawsuit on Thursday.
Six inmates at a medium-security men’s prison in Woodbourne, upstate New York, took legal action against the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for not allowing them to witness the eclipse.
The prisoners argued that being denied the chance to see the total solar eclipse was a violation of their religious rights, as they considered it a religious event.
Lawyers involved in the case, Chris McArdle, Sharon Steinerman, and Madeline Byrd from Alston & Byrd, confirmed that the Department of Corrections had agreed to allow the inmates to view the eclipse.
2001, Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Sullivan County, New York. Ruth Fremson/New York Times, via Redux
“In response to our lawsuit alleging religious discrimination, the state of New York has entered into a binding settlement agreement allowing six of our clients to view the solar eclipse in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs. We are pleased to do so,” they stated in a written release.
After this agreement, the lawsuit filed last week was dismissed. The lawsuit also requested solar eclipse glasses.
Daniel Martucello III, the acting secretary of the department, issued a memorandum on March 11 instructing all facilities to follow a holiday schedule on the day of the eclipse. As per the complaint, the inmates were confined to their cells.
The Department of Corrections mentioned that they had initiated an inquiry into religious requests to view the eclipse, including those from six Woodbourne inmates, even before the lawsuit was filed.
The department stated that they “continued to evaluate and address the matter while the lawsuit was ongoing” and ultimately agreed to allow these six individuals to witness the eclipse.
The lawsuit referenced instances of darkness in religious scriptures such as during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Christianity and the eclipse of the sun during significant events in Islam.
On Monday, there will be a visible total solar eclipse in the United States for the first time since August 21, 2017. The next solar eclipse visible in the United States will occur in 2044.
During a total solar eclipse, the sky will darken in the middle of the day.
Despite Woodbourne not being in the path of the total solar eclipse, around 3:25 p.m., the sun will be partially covered by the moon. NASA’s “Solar Eclipse Explorer” website
Officials in New York City revealed a pilot program on Thursday to implement handheld gun scanners in the subway system to enhance safety and reduce violence underground.
Mayor Eric Adams mentioned that the scanners will be set up at specific stations after a 90-day waiting period mandated by law.
“Ensuring the safety of New Yorkers in the subway system and preserving their trust in the system is crucial for keeping New York the safest metropolis in America,” Adams stated. The announcement also included plans to deploy extra outreach personnel to assist individuals with mental health issues living in the system.
Adams mentioned that authorities will seek companies with expertise in weapons detection technology, and eventually install the scanners in select subway stations to assess their effectiveness further.
The scanner, showcased by Mr. Adams and law enforcement officials at a news conference in Lower Manhattan, was developed by Evolv, a publicly traded company facing allegations of manipulating software test results to exaggerate the scanner’s effectiveness. The company is currently under investigation by U.S. trade regulators and financial regulators.
Evolv’s CEO, Peter George, described the AI-enabled scanner as utilizing “a secure ultra-low frequency electromagnetic field and advanced sensors for concealed weapons detection.”
Jerome Greco, overseeing attorney for the Legal Aid Society’s digital forensics division, cautioned that gun detection systems may trigger false alarms and cause unnecessary panic.
City officials have not disclosed the specific locations where the scanners will be deployed. A demonstration at the Fulton Street station showed the device beeping when an officer with a holstered gun passed, but not reacting to an officer with a cell phone or other electronic device. No false alarms were noted.
While violent incidents in the city’s subways are infrequent, recent high-profile shootings have highlighted safety concerns. The city recorded five murders in the subway system last year, a decrease from the previous year. The installation of the scanners follows a recent fatal accident at an East Harlem subway station, reinforcing the urgency of subway safety measures.
Reddit, a popular social media network, is aiming for a valuation of approximately $6.5 billion (£5 billion) as it prepares to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, as stated in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, plans to sell 22 million shares priced between $31 and $34 each in its upcoming initial public offering, potentially raising up to $748 million.
Initially planning to go public in 2021, Reddit delayed its IPO due to economic conditions and weak tech stock performance. The IPO, set to take place later this month under the ticker symbol RDDT, will be the most significant social media offering since Pinterest in 2019.
Described as the “front page of the internet” by its founders, Reddit intends to involve users and moderators in the IPO. A portion of the shares will be reserved for sale to targeted Reddit users, board members, employees’ friends and family, with eligibility criteria for user participation outlined.
Reddit is a digital platform where users can join communities, share experiences, and engage in discussions on various topics. With 100,000 active communities and 1 billion posts as of December 2023, Reddit sees potential growth in advertising and data licensing opportunities.
The company also aims to provide users with the opportunity to become investors through the IPO, while raising capital and offering liquidity to employees. Reddit’s recent financial filings showed a 21% revenue increase but a $90.8 million loss in 2023.
In preparation for its IPO, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced that the messaging platform is exploring the possibility of going public. With 900 million users and a $30 billion valuation, Telegram is nearing profitability and has no plans to sell.
Microsoft has issued a response to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by The New York Times, alleging that its content was used to train generative artificial intelligence. Microsoft called the claims a false narrative of “apocalyptic futurology” and criticized the lawsuit as short-sighted, comparing it to Hollywood’s resistance to VCRs.
In a motion to dismiss filed as part of the lawsuit, Microsoft responded to the allegations, stating that The New York Times’ content was given “particular weight” and that Microsoft has made significant investments in the Times. Microsoft ridiculed the claims made by the newspaper and denied the accusations of government involvement in the matter.
The lawsuit, which could have far-reaching implications for artificial intelligence and news content production, accuses Microsoft, as the largest investor in OpenAI, of using copyrighted content from The New York Times to develop AI products that threaten the newspaper’s ability to provide its services.
Microsoft argued that the lawsuit is reminiscent of Hollywood’s opposition to VCRs in the past and emphasized that the content used to train the language models does not replace the market for the original work but rather educates the models.
OpenAI, a co-defendant in the lawsuit, has requested the dismissal of certain claims against the company, asserting that their products, such as ChatGPT, are not intended to replace subscriptions to The New York Times and are not used for that purpose in the real world.
Following Microsoft’s legal response, The New York Times pushed back against the comparison to 1980s home-taping technology, stating that Microsoft collaborated with OpenAI to copy copyrighted works without permission.
The dispute between the parties is part of a larger legal battle over copyright issues related to AI technology and concerns about the creation of misleading information. Recent incidents, such as Google’s use of AI to generate historically inaccurate images, have raised concerns about the need to address these issues.
OpenAI has faced criticism for its training methods and refusal to disclose training data, including the use of copyrighted works. The company argues that limiting training data to public domain content would hinder the development of AI systems that meet current needs.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed surprise at the Times lawsuit, stating that the AI models do not rely on specific publisher data for training and that the Times’ content represented only a small portion of the overall text corpus used.
It was a complete coincidence that a few months before the pandemic spread across the world. indie bio — A startup accelerator specializing in startups that use biology to solve big problems — expanded Its authority was to add a New York division to operations already conducted outside San Francisco. Of course, thanks to what the world has endured, life sciences startups are in the spotlight now more than ever. So readers thought he might be interested in giving a sneak peek at the latest startups that IndieBio NY is preparing to introduce to investors.almost One month.
If you’re a founder, a venture capitalist, or just an interested industry observer looking for insight into what’s happening in a variety of related fields such as agriculture, diagnostics, carbon and methane upcycling, cancer treatment, etc. If so, check out what the nine teams have been up to so far. I’m working on it.
IndieBio’s previous breakthrough startups include cultured meat company Upside Foods. $400 million Led by two sovereign wealth funds that valued the company at more than $1 billion last year, MycoWorks, a company that makes leather from fungi, closed a $125 million Series C round last year at an undisclosed valuation. did.
Here’s a quick snapshot of each:
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FREZENT Biological Solutions
FREZENT said it is developing a new class of bispecific antibodies that target dormant cancer cells that survive chemotherapy and can cause recurrence. The approach is to block the metabolism of dormant cancer cells, preventing their reactivation and survival. The team is currently focused on monoclonal antibody discovery and proof-of-concept studies. Click here for details.
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Xias Bio Limited
according to Cias Bio, the three most important proteins in skin and hair care products, collagen, keratin, and elastin, are typically derived from cow skin, chicken feathers, and meat processing by-products (breck). In light of growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution and deforestation, a new generation of cosmetics consumers want the industry to replace animal proteins with sustainable alternatives, and Xias Bio We are responding to that request. Specifically, we developed a molecular platform to create and license multifunctional proteins that are free of animal-derived components. L’Oreal buys what it already sells. The startup’s founders have since said that the idea is to go beyond cosmetics to replace animal protein in many other sectors, including the pharmaceutical and food industries.
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serious farming
Earnest Agriculture says it has engineered a microbial consortium that protects crops from disease, pests and drought while improving soil health. The group claims that applying these patented microorganisms as a seed coating will increase yields seven times, reduce the use of synthetic chemicals and make crops more resilient to climate change. Click here for details.
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biometallica
biometallica’s pitch That means tens of millions of tons of electronic equipment are thrown away every year, much of it incinerated, releasing billions of dollars of recoverable material in the smoke. Not to mention the release of toxic gases. This startup’s eco-friendly solution to recovering some of these rare metals (palladium, platinum, rhodium) is a biochemical that separates palladium group metals (PMG) from e-waste, including used catalytic converters. It uses genetically modified bacteria that produce .
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Affinia
Affinia has developed and patented a blood test for early diagnosis of endometriosis. This blood test will provide results within a few days. The company says it will be available starting next year in clinics and through home collection kits. As with many women’s health startups, if all goes to plan, the team’s endometriosis testing will be just the beginning. The idea is to build a digital platform that provides diagnosis, virtual care, and prescription delivery for endometriosis and other conditions. Click here for details (Note that the startup was originally called AIMA and has not updated its site yet).
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carbon bridge
Freight carriers are already ordering methanol-powered ships to meet EU emissions standards, but uptake has been slow because green methanol cannot compete with oil on price. carbon bridgeThe solution to the challenge is described as a low-temperature, low-pressure microbial process that uses a bioreactor to upcycle carbon dioxide and methane into liquid methanol. Furthermore, it is said that gas can be procured cheaply from all over the world. 16,000 Wastewater treatment facilities in the United States typically burn it off.
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Equol
Aequor has discovered a marine microorganism that produces a molecule that removes bacterial slime in minutes, and when applied to water treatment facilities, the concentrate reduces traditional chemical usage by 90% and reduces energy usage. It says that it can reduce the amount of slime by up to 15% and prevent the formation of slime. The filter may become clogged and cause a shutdown. The larger goal is to enable access to safe and affordable drinking water while reducing the cost and environmental impact of water treatment. Click here for details.
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unibio
Almost all farmers$230 billion Herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers designed to increase crop yields are used every year, but the unintended consequences are well documented. not good. unibio They say there are better alternatives. The company says it has developed natural microparticles that can enhance biological crop protection agents by allowing them to penetrate plants more efficiently and reducing the amount of traditional chemicals required by up to 80%. It is said that it was developed.
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Terra Bio Industries
discarded food account 8-10% As the founder of Terra Bioindustries talks about greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why the company has developed a platform to upcycle brewing spent grain, a byproduct of beer that is difficult to sell. It works through a low-energy enzymatic process that separates the grain into edible sugars and proteins, which are then sold to food manufacturers and precision fermentation companies. Installation costs are also low by using commercial equipment found in most food processing facilities. Click here for details.
A new update to the popular app has revealed to New Yorkers just how rat-infested subway stations are.
Transit, an urban travel planning app first released in 2012, recently New York City subway mouse detector Features. Use information obtained from other users. The user selects one from multiple answers to questions such as “Is this city run by rats?” “Are there rats in this station?” – The app will show you how full of rats the station is. It became a surprising viral hit.
“It completely exploded,” Joe McNeil, Transit’s lead copywriter, told the Post.
Transit’s main service is to display bus and train arrival times. Currently, based on reports from “thousands of rodent observers across five boroughs,” are there no reports of rats at a particular station, or just “one or two” reports? , or whether it’s “very many.”
“New Yorkers are unusually proud of it” and “think it’s funny.” [that there are so many rats]” said McNeil, who is based in Montreal along with other members of the transit team.
A rat on a subway platform in Union Square in 2019.christopher sadowski
The new feature debuted in August, but has really taken off in recent weeks thanks to posts on TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter). In October, we received over 17,000 responses about rat sightings on the subway.
“Can we talk about this transit app update,” says dancer Angie Hokulanibigins, with the transit app update in the background. New York City subway mouse detector in TikTok videos It has been viewed more than 1.7 million times since it was posted late last month. “It shows you how dilapidated the stations are…and there’s a scale of rat numbers. The 89th most dilapidated is 42nd Street.”
X user based in Queens shared a screenshot 149 Street – From an app that shows Grand Concourse Station ratings — 10th out of 445 stations.
A screenshot of Rat Detector within the app.Transportation facilitiesRat Detector also provides users with online “statistical analysis.”Transportation facilities
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The Bronx station’s characteristics reveal it to be a significant rodent hub.ANT2RA/XA viral TikTok video helped spread the word about the detector’s existence.TikTok/Smoklani
“At least the Bronx made it to the top 10 for something,” the post joked.
But the MTA doesn’t seem to be interested.
MTA spokeswoman Kayla Schultz said in a statement to the Post that “we do not know the methodology behind the rat census and therefore decline to comment.”
The transportation team hopes that while the MTA may not yet be equipped with rat detectors, it will at least help it know which stops are most in need of visits from exterminators.
Kingston Throop Station. google map191st Street 1 station.JC RiceA rat wanders around looking for food at Columbus Circle 59th Street Station on May 8, 2023.Getty Images
In addition to in-app features, Transit announced on its website a “statistical analysis” of its findings showing “a rattling of the MTA’s most congested platforms.” Grant Avenue and Kingston-Throop Avenue A stopped, and 191 Street 1 now holds that honor.
The app also provides information for Chicago, Los Angeles, and more than 200 other cities, but typically asks users everyday pedestrian questions, such as accessibility and crowding. But, inspired by Rat Tracker’s success, it may start presenting users with even more fun queries.
McNeil said some of his colleagues didn’t expect the rodent tool to become so popular. But people from the Big Apple, or at least those familiar with Pizza Rat’s story, weren’t shocked.
He said, “I don’t think anyone who grew up in New York was surprised at all.”
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