http://nypost.com/2015/08/10/engineer-develops-map-the-homeless-app/
New Yorkers can now try to help tackle the city’s homeless problem with a new app.
David Fox, a 25-year-old data engineer from Murray Hill, developed Map the Homeless after getting fed up with transients aggressively begging and urinating in the street — while his local politicians turn a blind eye.
The app’s users are encouraged to take photos of the quality-of-life scofflaws and upload their pictures and location to a map.
“I want to help [city officials] be able to find these people and keep them off the streets,” Fox told The Post.
Just a few weeks ago, Fox noted, one of his friends was walking to his apartment from Grand Central Terminal and spotted two homeless bums.
“He saw a guy publicly urinating on a phone booth. He saw a guy going into the garbage fetching cans,” Fox said. “It just seems to be everywhere you go.”
Fox described his app as “really simple,” adding he made sure it was compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
As people continue to add photos, Fox hopes app users will be able to locate homeless “hot spots” — alerting people to high concentrations of hobos in particular neighborhoods or streets.
New Yorkers can now try to help tackle the city’s homeless problem with a new app.
David Fox, a 25-year-old data engineer from Murray Hill, developed Map the Homeless after getting fed up with transients aggressively begging and urinating in the street — while his local politicians turn a blind eye.
The app’s users are encouraged to take photos of the quality-of-life scofflaws and upload their pictures and location to a map.
“I want to help [city officials] be able to find these people and keep them off the streets,” Fox told The Post.
Just a few weeks ago, Fox noted, one of his friends was walking to his apartment from Grand Central Terminal and spotted two homeless bums.
“He saw a guy publicly urinating on a phone booth. He saw a guy going into the garbage fetching cans,” Fox said. “It just seems to be everywhere you go.”
Fox described his app as “really simple,” adding he made sure it was compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
As people continue to add photos, Fox hopes app users will be able to locate homeless “hot spots” — alerting people to high concentrations of hobos in particular neighborhoods or streets.
