Josh Hadro
@hadro.bsky.social
Librarian and digital scholarship/data person working in cultural heritage. Also a former journalist and current local journalism booster in #Brooklyn / #NYC
I work for the largest library in the world but all skeets and thoughts here are my own
I work for the largest library in the world but all skeets and thoughts here are my own
“This low death rate, in turn, contributes to New York’s high life expectancy, which according to provisional data reached 83.2 years in 2024, about 4 years higher than the national average.”
Move to NYC, live longer!
Move to NYC, live longer!
"Once you factor in New York’s relatively low number of auto accidents per capita — because so many people take public transit, which is much safer — it becomes clear that New York has a lower rate of violent death than almost anywhere else in America."
Notes on New York
The Big Apple had a pretty good 2025, but …
paulkrugman.substack.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:10 PM
“This low death rate, in turn, contributes to New York’s high life expectancy, which according to provisional data reached 83.2 years in 2024, about 4 years higher than the national average.”
Move to NYC, live longer!
Move to NYC, live longer!
Reposted by Josh Hadro
We're bigger by population than like 38 of the 50 states and *just* missed 300 homicides. Really impressive stuff.
A remarkable trend that will come as a shock to you if your only info about NYC is from this Fox News.
Homicides in NYC...
1990: 2,262
1993: 1,927
1998: 629
2001: 649
2013: 335
2019: 320
2021: 488
2024: 382
2025 (as of 12/28): 302
Homicides in NYC...
1990: 2,262
1993: 1,927
1998: 629
2001: 649
2013: 335
2019: 320
2021: 488
2024: 382
2025 (as of 12/28): 302
January 1, 2026 at 8:12 PM
We're bigger by population than like 38 of the 50 states and *just* missed 300 homicides. Really impressive stuff.
Reposted by Josh Hadro
Goodnight, sweet prince.
Eric Adams is amazing because when he won every media person was leaping over each to go “this is the normal sane leadership that the political left doesn’t understand normal sane Americans crave” and then every day since that Eric Adams has been like “Leprechauns are real and I’m going to cook one”
January 1, 2026 at 12:18 AM
Goodnight, sweet prince.
This tracks, a totally unintended consequence of getting an e-cargo bike is that family errands on weekends are way less of a hassle, and dare I say fun!
E-cargo bikes sound pretty amazing in this new UK study:
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
"Parents’ and children’s enjoyment, curiosity, and sense of adventure encouraged additional travel, transforming routine journeys into playful and memorable family experiences."
doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...
December 31, 2025 at 3:21 PM
This tracks, a totally unintended consequence of getting an e-cargo bike is that family errands on weekends are way less of a hassle, and dare I say fun!
post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, or alice in chains
December 28, 2025 at 3:54 AM
post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't nirvana, pearl jam, soundgarden, or alice in chains
Okay, credit where credit is due, “Hello, Carol” on the theater marquee in the Roku city screensaver is legitimately funny.
December 24, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Okay, credit where credit is due, “Hello, Carol” on the theater marquee in the Roku city screensaver is legitimately funny.
I am an insufferable left-handed person when it comes to pointing this stuff out — it’s not ancient history, my mother had her left hand literally tied behind her back in grade school to force her to be right handed
December 24, 2025 at 7:32 PM
I am an insufferable left-handed person when it comes to pointing this stuff out — it’s not ancient history, my mother had her left hand literally tied behind her back in grade school to force her to be right handed
This is a delightful story
It all started in 1955 with a misprint in a Colorado newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret military hotline. Shoup played along with the tiny voice who called, and a tradition was born. From the NPR archives.
NORAD's Santa Tracker began with a typo and a good sport
It all started in 1955 with a misprint in a Colorado newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret military hotline. Shoup played along with the tiny voice who called, and a tradition was born.
n.pr
December 21, 2025 at 12:52 AM
This is a delightful story
I don’t know if it’s the overall best film of the year, but the single most intense chill I got this year while watching a movie was the orchestral swell when Sean Penn is walking down the hotel hallway in One Battle After Another
Must be sad to be a Critical Drinker wannabe on YouTube and pretend the final car chase in "One Battle After Another" doesn't whip. No better in-theater moment for me this year then when Leo's Nissan pops into view.
December 21, 2025 at 12:41 AM
I don’t know if it’s the overall best film of the year, but the single most intense chill I got this year while watching a movie was the orchestral swell when Sean Penn is walking down the hotel hallway in One Battle After Another
Reposted by Josh Hadro
A hard problem with literary data is navigating btwn editions of books and what the "work," or the theoretical text that unites all editions. I've been lucky to work with @thisismattmiller.com and @mellymeldubs.bsky.social, who built a tool to address this + do much more
arxiv.org/abs/2512.10165
arxiv.org/abs/2512.10165
BookReconciler: An Open-Source Tool for Metadata Enrichment and Work-Level Clustering
We present BookReconciler, an open-source tool for enhancing and clustering book data. BookReconciler allows users to take spreadsheets with minimal metadata, such as book title and author, and automa...
arxiv.org
December 12, 2025 at 8:39 PM
A hard problem with literary data is navigating btwn editions of books and what the "work," or the theoretical text that unites all editions. I've been lucky to work with @thisismattmiller.com and @mellymeldubs.bsky.social, who built a tool to address this + do much more
arxiv.org/abs/2512.10165
arxiv.org/abs/2512.10165
People asking LLMs "how many Rs are in the word 'strawberry'" and then laughing at the frequently incorrect results are, I suspect, vastly overestimating their own ability to correctly answer "how many Rs are in the word "'strawberry'" if they were put on the spot.
December 11, 2025 at 7:56 PM
People asking LLMs "how many Rs are in the word 'strawberry'" and then laughing at the frequently incorrect results are, I suspect, vastly overestimating their own ability to correctly answer "how many Rs are in the word "'strawberry'" if they were put on the spot.
He may be a terrible and corrupt mayor, but you have to admit there’s a comic absurdity to just about everything Eric Adams says
December 10, 2025 at 8:19 PM
He may be a terrible and corrupt mayor, but you have to admit there’s a comic absurdity to just about everything Eric Adams says
Good things are possible
Congestion pricing is working so well it has helped clear the air in all parts of NYC, according to a new study.
And other links to start your day!
hellgatenyc.com/new-yorkers-...
And other links to start your day!
hellgatenyc.com/new-yorkers-...
New Yorkers Are Literally Breathing Easier After Congestion Pricing
And other links to start your hump day.
hellgatenyc.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Good things are possible
Reposted by Josh Hadro
NEW — I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones!
My guide:
My guide:
Giving the gift of independent journalism: a guide
The Handbasket has subscription suggestions for almost everyone on your list.
www.thehandbasket.co
December 6, 2025 at 3:38 PM
NEW — I put together a list of independent journalism subscriptions that would make great holiday gifts. From music to politics, astronomy to alcohol, tech to social justice, there’s something for [almost] everyone. Support indie media *and* surprise and delight your loved ones!
My guide:
My guide:
I'm not a big AI hype guy, but this feels like one of those moments where a really thorny and previously time-intensive/expensive problem just became much, much more straightforward: generativehistory.substack.com/p/gemini-3-s...
Gemini 3 Solves Handwriting Recognition and it’s a Bitter Lesson
Testing shows that Gemini 3 has effectively solved handwriting on English texts, one of the oldest problems in AI, achieving expert human levels of performance.
generativehistory.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:58 PM
I'm not a big AI hype guy, but this feels like one of those moments where a really thorny and previously time-intensive/expensive problem just became much, much more straightforward: generativehistory.substack.com/p/gemini-3-s...
This is, unfortunately, correct
This is why @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social needs to go all in on street safety, bike lanes, bus lanes, pedestrians plazas and more. The Post – and the Right in general – is going to call anything he does a “war on drivers” no matter what, so why not just do what’s right and go for it?
Mamdani hires car-hating activist Ben Furnas to transportation team: ‘war on drivers’
November 30, 2025 at 5:14 PM
This is, unfortunately, correct
Hook it to my veins — if the NYPost is sputtering mad, it’s good enough for me
Mamdani hires car-hating activist Ben Furnas to transportation team: ‘war on drivers’
Mamdani hires car-hating activist Ben Furnas to transportation team: ‘war on drivers’
Car-hating Transportation Alternatives boss Ben Furnas has been appointed to Mamdani's transition team for transportation, climate and infrastructure – and his agenda is a nightmare for the city's drivers.
nypost.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Hook it to my veins — if the NYPost is sputtering mad, it’s good enough for me
21 years ago today I paid $5 to sign up for Metafilter, just after signups were reopened.
I’d been a lurker on the site since late 2000. So I’ve been reading that damn website, on and off, for 25 years.
Computers were a mistake, but that website has brought me a lot of insight (and agita).
I’d been a lurker on the site since late 2000. So I’ve been reading that damn website, on and off, for 25 years.
Computers were a mistake, but that website has brought me a lot of insight (and agita).
November 27, 2025 at 1:36 PM
21 years ago today I paid $5 to sign up for Metafilter, just after signups were reopened.
I’d been a lurker on the site since late 2000. So I’ve been reading that damn website, on and off, for 25 years.
Computers were a mistake, but that website has brought me a lot of insight (and agita).
I’d been a lurker on the site since late 2000. So I’ve been reading that damn website, on and off, for 25 years.
Computers were a mistake, but that website has brought me a lot of insight (and agita).
Denis Villeneuve’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
If you were a despotic president, what movie would you force Hollywood to make? I want to see Quentin's Star Trek movie or maybe Kill Bill Vol 3.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Denis Villeneuve’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
Reposted by Josh Hadro
Congratulations to Allmaps (led by @bertspaan.nl & Jules Schoonman) + @iiif.bsky.social on the announcement of this partnership. It's a fantastic step towards a sustainable, open, digital maps infrastructure and data ecosystem.
Learn more at allmaps.org/iiif-partner... & iiif.io/news/2025/11...
Learn more at allmaps.org/iiif-partner... & iiif.io/news/2025/11...
November 21, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Congratulations to Allmaps (led by @bertspaan.nl & Jules Schoonman) + @iiif.bsky.social on the announcement of this partnership. It's a fantastic step towards a sustainable, open, digital maps infrastructure and data ecosystem.
Learn more at allmaps.org/iiif-partner... & iiif.io/news/2025/11...
Learn more at allmaps.org/iiif-partner... & iiif.io/news/2025/11...
Remember, while there's a lot of bad news nationally, there's plenty to be enraged about locally also!
Driver Mariam Yarimi who murdered an entire family on Ocean Pkwy had a suspended license, 93 traffic violations, $10,000+ in fines, but ... whoopsy doodle!
Driver Mariam Yarimi who murdered an entire family on Ocean Pkwy had a suspended license, 93 traffic violations, $10,000+ in fines, but ... whoopsy doodle!
Mariam Yarimi, the insane recidivist speeding driver who crushed and wiped out an entire family with her Audi, got the NYC “pobody’s nerfect” special and will only spend 3 years in jail.
November 19, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Remember, while there's a lot of bad news nationally, there's plenty to be enraged about locally also!
Driver Mariam Yarimi who murdered an entire family on Ocean Pkwy had a suspended license, 93 traffic violations, $10,000+ in fines, but ... whoopsy doodle!
Driver Mariam Yarimi who murdered an entire family on Ocean Pkwy had a suspended license, 93 traffic violations, $10,000+ in fines, but ... whoopsy doodle!
Reposted by Josh Hadro
New data shows that the CCRB retroactively doctored public data for more than 10,000 misconduct allegations against NYPD officers.
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
The NYPD’s Watchdog Whitewashed More Than 10,000 Misconduct Allegations in Public Data, New Evidence Shows
Allegations of lying, sexual misconduct, bigoted statements, and racist policing were among those quietly reclassified by the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
hellgatenyc.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:46 PM
New data shows that the CCRB retroactively doctored public data for more than 10,000 misconduct allegations against NYPD officers.
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
hellgatenyc.com/ccrb-whitewa...
Quoting one of Mario Cuomo’s best lines without attribution is such a delightfully classy hater thing to do, I love it.
November 5, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Quoting one of Mario Cuomo’s best lines without attribution is such a delightfully classy hater thing to do, I love it.
At this rate, Cuomo only has to run for mayor 3 or 4 more times this year before he wins.
Congrats to Andrew Cuomo on getting embarrassed in an election twice in one year, GOAT loser status
November 5, 2025 at 3:20 AM
At this rate, Cuomo only has to run for mayor 3 or 4 more times this year before he wins.
Reposted by Josh Hadro
Regular reminder that the best work covering this city is done by local outlets - @wnyc.org @thecity.nyc @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social @hellgatenyc.com and others. You don’t have to rely tonight on the newspaper you are constantly annoyed at!
November 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Regular reminder that the best work covering this city is done by local outlets - @wnyc.org @thecity.nyc @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social @hellgatenyc.com and others. You don’t have to rely tonight on the newspaper you are constantly annoyed at!