Heat Seek NYC

Press

Internet-Connected Thermostats Finally Help Tenants Hold Heat-Stingy Landlords Accountable

This February was the coldest on record in New York City since 1934. Most of us have been spending the winter bundled up inside with our radiators on. But not everyone in the city has reliable heat. Although landlords in New York are required to keep the temperature at a livable level throughout the winter, there are some 200,000 complaints from tenants every year that the heat is below the legal threshold. Read more

What to do when you're freezing in NYC—indoors

from CNBC on

In New York City, it can be hard for some people to keep the heat on inside their own apartments. But a start-up is trying to help apartment dwellers fix the problem. Read more

Hacking the Law: Apps That Protect Legal Rights

from The Huffington Post on

Heat Seek NYC will help tenants document when the landlord is obligated to provide heat and when he or she is failing to do so. It will collect data about landlord violations, help tenants document those violations and then assist them in proving their case in court. It will also help responsible landlords who wish to comply with the law identify problems with the delivery of heat so that they can provide their tenants with this essential service. Read more

Heat Seek NYC app gives Brooklyn tenants ammo vs. icy apartments

from NY Daily News on

HEAT-scrooge landlords could face cold-hard data if Brooklyn tenants take them to court this winter. A new app that records temperatures and generates the documents shivering tenants need for a legal battle will be installed in at least 10 buildings across the borough, with plans to expand it citywide. Read more

Coming for tenants with no heat this winter: An app to track apartment code violations

from New York Business Journal on

A system designed by a team of web developers to identify and track violations of New York City apartment heating requirements won one of the grand prizes in the city's annual BigApps contest, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday night. Read more

A Kickstarter to Hold Stingy Landlords Accountable For Withholding Heat

from Village Voice on

Heat Seek started as a school project for Jeffries, who was enrolled in a 12-week Ruby programming course at the Flatiron School at the time. Tristan Siegel, a classmate of Jeffries' and the son of a social worker, recognized the technology could be used to help New Yorkers keep heat logs. Together, they assembled a team around the project and entered it in New York's Big Apps competition where, in July, it was one of 23 projects singled out to receive continued funding, promotion and mentorship. Read more

BigApps winner helps tenants battle landlords

from Crain's New York on

Heat Seek NYC collects data on heat in buildings and shares it with city agencies in an effort to "track patterns of abuse." Mayor Bill de Blasio called the app "very cool and very important." Read more

New York Tech Meetup: Hack of the Month

from New York Tech Meetup on

Heat Seek NYC: helps tenants prove their apartment is too cold when their landlords don't turn the heat up in the winter (fast forward through video to Hack of the Month bookmark). Read more

Heat Seek NYC Aims to Keep the City Warm with Code

from Flatiron School on

Flatiron Alums William Jeffries and Tristan Siegel want to help NYC residents turn up their heat with an app that records temperature. Read more

Slumlord Cyber Killers — An App to Bust Heat Misers

from BetaBeat on

Techies turn up the heat on shady NYC slumlords. Read more

BigApps and Open Data

from Microsoft New York on

[The] winner of the people’s choice vote may have been the biggest star of the day: Heat Seek NYC. Read more

NYC Open Data Advocates Focus on Quality And Value Over Quantity

from Tech President on

Heat Seek aims to counter New York City heating code violations by using mesh networks of temperature sensors to report heating violations, aiding the housing court process, notifying tenants, lawyers and landlords, and integrating its reports with 311 data. Read more

New App Will Hold Bad Landlords Accountable For Frigid Apartments

from Gothamist on

It was only a matter of time before someone decided to battle this age-old lamentation with sleek technology, and now it's here. The device, and accompanying app, is called Heat Seek NYC, and it aims to prevent vulnerable New Yorkers from suffering in their own homes. Read more

Heat Seek NYC Wants To Fix New York City’s Heating Crisis

from Gadget Review on

It feels really good knowing you did something good for another person, and that’s exactly the feeling you’re get when you invest in a Heat Seek NYC thermometer. What makes this thermometer so special is that it connects to the web to help NYC turn the heat on for thousands of tenants that will go with no heat in brutal Big Apple winters. Read more

New App Will Track Landlords Who Don’t Turn Up the Heat

from Brooklyn Magazine on

The way it works is simple: tenants install a system of web-enabled sensors throughout their apartments, which automatically take temperature readings every hour and record them in a centralized database online. Tenants, advocates, and watchdog lawyers can then log in to check the data and set alerts if it drops below a certain level. Read more

This Smart Thermostat Wants to Turn Up the Heat On Slumlords

from The Verge on

As it stands now, the biggest problem for tenants is gathering enough evidence. You need a city inspector to properly document the low temperatures, but the inspectors are stretched thin, appearing in a 36-hour window that often comes while tenants are at work. If the inspector comes on a warm day, the whole process has to start again. Read more

Heat Seek Temperature Monitors Want to Keep NYC Tenants Warm, Bring Scummy Landlords to Justice

from Engadget on

Since it's darn hard getting an inspector to come and verify a heat violation, a new KickStarter project called Heat Seek NYC wants to give people the power to gather their own evidence using simple internet-connected temperature sensors. Read more

How to Use the Internet of Things to Fight Slumlords

from WIRED on

Google’s Nest thermostat makes it easy to save money by automatically turning down the heat when you’re not around. But many people don’t have the luxury of controlling their own temperature settings, let alone the money to buy expensive gadgets that can do it automatically. Read more

Heat Seek NYC: The App Set to Protect Struggling Tenants This Winter

from The New York Observer on

With summer now drawing to a close, people are mentally preparing for winter. For many, though, heating their NYC apartments during these freezing months is a battle. Read more