The summer spike in killings is just one of several findings unearthed in an analysis by The New York Times of multiyear homicide trends. The information — detailing homicides during the years 2003 to 2008 — was compiled mainly from open-records requests with the New York Police Department, and a searchable database of details on homicides in the city during those years is available online for readers to explore at nytimes.com/nyregion.

Each day, the New York Police Department announces major crimes, including most homicides, in the five boroughs. This data is compiled from those reports, in addition to news accounts, court records and additional reporting. The map will be updated as new information becomes available.

An interactive homicide map of  New York City

I’d encourage everyone to check out Ernesto Neto’s installation, “Anthropodino” at the Park Avenue Armory

“Park Avenue Armory launches its first commissioned art installation with anthropodino, a large-scale, interactive work by world-renowned artist, Ernesto Neto. Using hundreds of yards of translucent material, Neto suspends a gigantic canopy from the drill hall’s latticework truss, spanning 120 feet wide and 180 feet long. Magnificent, aromatic “fabric stalactites” descend 60 feet to embrace a vast labyrinth of passageways and rooms.”

Through June 14

645 Park Avenue/6 Train to 68th St

Via boingboing:

“This twenty-foot retractable watchtower is dubbed “Sky Watch” according to Animal New York. It’s used by the NYPD to monitor areas where crime is spiking…which means that it’s currently just a few stops West of me in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where a recent spate of robberies and muggings have plagued the neighborhood.

If these mobile towers were permanent fixtures in the city I might be more upset by them, but New York’s roving bands of police officers through the Operation Impact project do seem to be keeping crime down. And while I find irresponsible police as frustrating and frightful as anyone, I’ve come to view a pair of officers walking through neighborhoods keeping the peace as a good thing.”

“Morning Edition, May 3, 2005 · Some cities are creating their own intelligence units to get the law enforcement information they want when they want it. Such independent activity isn’t necessarily well received by the FBI and other federal agencies. A look at New York City’s Intelligence Division, which was started after Sept. 11 and is housed in a secret location in the city.”

This is the online archive and studio blog for the Police States: Biopolitical and Tactical Urbanisms of the NYPD the summer options studio led by Michael Chen at Pratt Institute School of Architecture. Please check back often for updates, research, design work, and texts.