New York State Office of Cyber Security
Geographic Information Systems Clearinghouse
GIS Partnership Summary
NYC
Watershed Protection Program
Tax Mapping Project with Watershed Counties
Partnership Purpose and Goal
The NYC Watershed Tax Mapping Project developed out of mutual interest on the part of the City of New York Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), the State Office of Real Property Services (NYSORPS), and many of the eight NYC Watershed counties to develop digital tax maps in a consistent format. The City sought digital parcel data in a single watershed-wide standard format to facilitate analysis of land use in the NYC Watershed as a part of its Watershed Protection Program GIS analysis. The State sought to promote digital tax mapping and to develop a single digital map format. The Counties sought digital parcel data to promote efficiencies in tax map operations as well as to utilize parcel data in non-tax mapping applications.
Participants and Resource Contributions
- NYSORPS - Provides extensive project management, training and QA/QC using existing staff;
- Counties of Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Schoharie, Greene and Delaware have participated. Sullivan County declined participation; however, NYC contracted with ORPS to complete a parcel boundary cover of Sullivan anyhow, but it will not be maintained by the county.
- Westchester County - eight of the twelve watershed towns are participating; participating local governments provide staff to evaluate draft data and dedicate staff to maintain data in the future;
- NYCDEP - provided
all of the direct project funding (project's total budgeted funds are $670,000):
- $350,000 for digitizing
- $120,000 for project management by NYSORPS
- $200,000 for hardware/software and training (based on $25,000 for each participating county)
Time Frame
Date Partnership Began: December 1994Completion Date: NYSORPS contract expired March 31, 1999; NYC agreements with localities for data updates continue for a period of at least ten years.
Deliverables
Digital tax parcel data in a consistent format for the counties covered by the New York City Watershed.Brief Summary of Partnership
The New York City water supply system serves nearly eight million residents of the City and one million people who live in Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Ulster Counties. The source of this water supply, world-renowned for its high quality and excellent taste, is a watershed that crosses eight New York State counties and includes most of the rural Catskill Mountains and many suburbs north of the City. More than 250,000 people live in the 73 towns, villages and hamlets within the watershed. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for protecting and operating this surface water supply system, the largest gravity-fed system in the world.
To facilitate GIS-based land use analysis as a part of its Watershed Protection Program, the City entered into an inter-governmental agreement with the State to develop digital tax parcel data for the NYC watershed. The State was responsible for developing a digital data format, negotiating with watershed counties on their participation, procuring and managing digitizing services from an outside vendor and QA/QC. Participating counties agreed to provide the City with at least ten annual updates of the tax map data and associated assessment information, in return for the data and $25,000 in "seed money" for hardware, software and/or training. Based on a needs assessment by NYSORPS, the counties spent the seed money on whatever combination of items would facilitate the counties data maintenance efforts (most purchases involved computers, digitizing tables, plotters, software, etc.).
Currently, data are complete for Ulster, Schoharie, Sullivan and Greene Counties in the West-of-Hudson watershed and for Putnam County and approximately four towns within Westchester County in the East-of-Hudson watershed. Still pending are Delaware and Dutchess Counties, and the remaining Westchester towns.
Additional Information Available
On-line
None
Contact Information
GIS Coordinator
NYCDEP Watershed Lands & Community Planning
71 Smith Ave.
Kingston, NY 12401
Phone: (845) 340-7809
Fax: (845) 340-7514
E-mail: tspies@catgis.dep.nyc.ny.us
Matthew Schwab
Project Coordinator
NYCDEP Land Acquisition & Stewardship Program
71 Smith Ave.
Kingston, NY 12401
Phone: (845) 340-7550
Fax: (845) 340-7514
E-mail: mschwab@catgis.dep.nyc.ny.us
Information last updated: November 8, 1999