I am addicted to the Gothamist Newsmap. It maps all the fire department, police and emergency calls and events on one map of the city for the past 24 hours or so. It is totally useful. Like when there were tons of fire trucks and ambulances just down the block, the first thing I did was go to the Newsmap and see that it was an Arson/Fire. And I found that out way before it was on any official new source.

But it can also be a bit freaky. For all the talk of the crime rate decreasing in NYC, there is still a lot of shit that goes down in this city. For example, here is today’s latest incidents:

Perp Search | 74-40 Austin St X 75 Ave Queens, NY | 12/20/2007 7:16 p.m.

All Hands | 1120 Bergen St Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 6:10 p.m.

Oc Incident | Benson Ave At Bay 34 St Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 5:22 p.m.

Armed Robbery | Washington Pl & Broadway Manhattan, NY | 12/20/2007 4:04 p.m.

Hostage Situation | 1780 Broadway Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 3:06 p.m.

Hostage Situation | 1780 Broadway Manhattan, NY | 12/20/2007 2:47 p.m.

Water Main Break | 1287 E Bay Ave Bronx, NY | 12/20/2007 1:55 p.m.

Person Under Train | 42nd St & 8th Ave Manhattan, NY | 12/20/2007 1:17 p.m.

Hazmat | Park Ave At Clermont Ave Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 12:41 p.m.

Bomb Threat | Utopia Pkwy & 58th Ave Queens, NY | 12/20/2007 11:47 a.m.

Suspicious Substance | E 17th St & Union Sq E Manhattan, NY | 12/20/2007 10:30 a.m.

Evidence Search | Hull Ave & Hylan Blvd Staten Island, NY | 12/20/2007 9:04 a.m.

All Hands | 719 East 42nd St Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 7:29 a.m.

Evidence Search | 692 Rockaway Ave Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 6:48 a.m.

All Hands | 25-30 Mcintosh Street Queens, NY | 12/20/2007 6:22 a.m.

Homicide | 14 Pershing Street Staten Island, NY | 12/20/2007 5:28 a.m.

Shooting | 462 Chester Street X Newport Street Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 5:25 a.m.

2nd Alarm | 242 Bradhurst Ave @ West 154 Street Manhattan, NY | 12/20/2007 4:52 a.m.

Shooting | 2240 Church Ave Brooklyn, NY | 12/20/2007 3:00 a.m.

Animal Attack | W 97 St X Columbus Ave Manhattan, NY | 12/20/2007 12:26 a.m.

All Hands | 473 Buel Ave Staten Island, NY | 12/19/2007 11:59 p.m.

Evidence Search | Pacific St & Buffalo Ave Brooklyn, NY | 12/19/2007 11:19 p.m.

Shots Fired / Barricaded Perp | 233 Hull St Staten Island, NY | 12/19/2007 11:07 p.m.

Perp Search | 10 Kiely Pl X Crescent Brooklyn, NY | 12/19/2007 10:55 p.m.

Shots Fired/ Perp Search | 1609 East 174th St Bronx, NY | 12/19/2007 10:48 p.m.

10-75 | 42-22 79th St Queens, NY | 12/19/2007 10:33 p.m.

Large Fight | 79 St X Roosevelt AVE. Queens, NY | 12/19/2007 10:25 p.m.

Shots Fired | 1609 E 174 St X Morrison Ave Bronx, NY | 12/19/2007 10:19 p.m.

All Hands | 107-08 160 St X 107 Ave Queens, NY | 12/19/2007 9:24 p.m.

My particular favorites are the “Jumper Down” calls. It’s always on a bridge or tall building, but I never know if it means that the jumper succeeded in jumping or whether the cops succeeded in talking the jumper out of jumping. Any thoughts?

Anyway, maybe it is a morbid fascination, but I like to know what is going on. And it helps me keep perspective when I start to get a little too comfortable to pay attention to my surroundings. Plus, it reminds me of my Grandpa, who had one of those things that would let you listen to the police on their cb radios — this is just the high tech version, right?