A new interactive mapping tool launched in the Open Nassau Transparency Portal
MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman announced the release of the new Open Nassau: Community Indicators Index, an interactive mapping tool that visualizes core Census data by County and Census Tract to display critical information about Nassau County, including demographics, economic development, education, healthcare, commuting method to work, and so much more. This newest component of the Open Nassau Transparency Portal was unveiled at the Comptroller’s Office’s Annual Innovation Awards, hosted at Hofstra University’s ideaHUb.
“The Community Indicators Index is a continuation of the marker set out by my administration to provide valuable information to the public in an innovative and easy-to-understand way,” said Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman. “We can better address the challenges that our residents are facing when we can understand the demographic data of our communities. As government continues to prioritize providing essential services in this evolving climate, I am eager to see this Index used as a dynamic tool for policymakers in the years to come.”
The map allows users to analyze hyperlocal areas in Nassau County to understand our communities better. The Index showcases everything from income inequality to poverty, to food stamps, health equity gaps, down to how residents commute to work, and so much more. Users can input their address and census tract, filter by topics to highlight specific datasets, and filter by time period to view trends. Users can also find the census tract of a particular address through the Census Geocoder. Users can simply input a particular address, and the Census Geocoder will return information about the address range, including the census tract and other geographic data. The data included in the interactive map is the most up-to-date information currently available, provided by the United States Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Beginning work in 2018, in partnership with the County Executive, the Comptroller's Office spearheaded the creation of the Open Nassau Transparency Portal, a robust open data platform to modernize the County's finances and make them easily accessible to the public. As part of our effort to offer a multi-pronged initiative to bring unprecedented levels of transparency and modernization to Nassau County, the Comptroller’s Office rolled out not only dashboards that provide critical financial information but also comprehensive policy reports focused on equity, the census, “The Deal” of living in Nassau County, the Comptroller’s Scorecard, the Resiliency Progress Tracker, information about food insecurity, along with many more report
The Community Indicators Index is the next step of that work, bringing data together to highlight what challenges residents face. The Index was announced at the Comptroller’s Office Innovation Awards, which honored a diverse group of community leaders for their focus on modernization and their implementation of common-sense innovations. The event was held on the 9th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, an event that challenged our region to innovate in order to achieve resiliency and sustainability.
The honorees of this year’s awards ceremony are:
- Terri Arnold-McKenzie – Program Manager, Ascend Long Island
- Recognized for her ongoing commitment and tireless efforts to recruit, train, mentor and provide capital to cohorts of diverse entrepreneurs.
- Giovanna Bracchi – Executive Director, La Fuerza Unida Community Development Corporation
- Recognized for support of small business growth on Long Island and providing access to capital for small and minority business owners.
- Mayor Peter Cavallaro – Village of Westbury
- Recognized for Innovation of transit-oriented development and successful revitalization programs that continue to build a sustainable downtown community.
- Robert Cleary – Nassau County Chief Procurement Officer
- Recognized for his innovations in modernizing contracting and procurement as well his critical role on the
Comptroller’s Office Not-for-Profit and MWBE Committees.
- Brian Curran – Nassau County Public Administrator
- Recognized for improvements made at the Office of the Nassau County Public Administrator following an audit from the Office of the Nassau County Comptroller.
- Dr. Isma Chaudhry – Co-Chair, Islamic Center of Long Island
- Recognized for leadership and generosity to the Westbury and Long Island communities through programs such as their Community Food Pantry, their continuing education programs for adults and their recent Homework Club.
- Randi Shubin Dresner – President/CEO, Island Harvest Food Bank
- Recognized for innovative strategies to invest in workforce development and address not just hunger, but the root causes of hunger. Her quick thinking and leadership that changed the model of how Island Harvest is run to make sure it would stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- John Durso – President, Long Island Federation of Labor
- Recognized for his leadership not only as part of the region’s COVID-19 control room but his dedication to ensuring the work of the Nassau County Comptroller’s Office Living Wage committee breaks new ground.
- David Nemiroff – President/CEO, Long Island Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Recognized for his visionary leadership in ensuring that vulnerable communities were safely vaccinated, and towards bridging the health equity gaps our communities face.
“Upon taking office, encouraging innovation has always been first and foremost one of the key drivers of our work,” concluded Schnirman. “The Innovation Awards are a key to acknowledging modernization, not just in government, but by leaders in the community as well, so that we can tackle the challenges we face, and move forward together.”
The Community Indicators Index is available on our Open Nassau Transparency Portal at opennassau.nassaucountyny.gov.