It's the question that's baffled every four-year-old in America. Where does the water go when you flush the toilet? Now, thanks to this map from the environmental health organization Habitat Map, you can find out the answer. The map breaks down the city into color-coded "sewagesheds," allowing New Yorkers can figure out if their toilets contribute to the stench that has long plagued sections of Brooklyn near the Owls Head Wastewater Treatment Plant, or if heavy rains cause their flushes to become a part of the 586 million gallons of raw sewage poured into Newtown Creek annually, or the 1.43 billion gallons dumped into the waters off of Astoria every year. It's also the perfect complement to this map of New York City public toilets. more ›

Here's a way to find out if your neighborhood is kid-friendly. The website PlayaroundNYC has assembled a map charting the locations of playgrounds and their distances from major and minor truck routes. The areas that are darker in color have greater access to playgrounds that aren't surrounded by truck routes than the areas that are lighter in color. Though the map doesn't account for other variables impacting playground quality — like quality of play equipment, population density, or the availability of park restrooms — it's an interesting way to see how different parts of the city cater to children. According to the folks responsible for the map, "[i]t's unfortunate that the easiest locations to place playgrounds are on land left over from major highway construction rather than locations that are more appropriate for supporting young New Yorkers." more ›

There can never be too many New York City maps, and City Room points out collage artist Michael Albert's latest creation—a print of which costs 50 bucks online, though he generously handed them out for free this past weekend on a corner in downtown Brooklyn. more ›

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Everyone's favorite comedian, Sarah Palin, will be going head-to-head with Joe Biden tomorrow night for what's sure to be the most watched VP debate in history. There are some pre-debate choices to be made, however. You can choose to view it in the solitude of your own apartment, shivering in a dark corner hugging your knees, or you can surround yourself with others, under the influence of many drinks, at a bar near you. If you choose the latter, here are some options: more ›

Major League Baseball's All-Star festivities are in full swing, finally culminating in tonight's game at Yankee Stadium. But before the National and American Leagues face off in the mid-summer classic, baseball's All-Stars will be parading up 6th Avenue in the Red Carpet Parade. Starting at 1pm, players in tonight's game and over 40 Hall of Fame members will make their way from Bryant Park (40th and 6th) north to 58th and 6th. more ›

An organization called City Lore has created an interactive map that fuses NYC cartography with its residents' oral histories. Whether on the news, the subway, or even online, New Yorkers see mapped representations of their town several times a day. City Lore's City of Memory map has deepened that visual familiarity by creating an interactive environment where users can hear vignettes from other New Yorkers about their lives. The organization, which is sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation among other groups, has produced a number of the stories itself, but the general online public is free to submit their own stories for placement on the map. more ›

How does the trash in your 'nabe measure up to the rest of the city's? NY Moon and Last Night's Trash documented different neighborhood's garbage, and while there's no trash-tallying competition, the discarded items speak volumes at times. more ›

The head of the Catholic Church and his Popemobile will be cruising the streets of Manhattan and the Bronx this week. That means street closings and traffic disruptions all over town. Pope Benedict has a wide-ranging itinerary around the city, from Ground Zero to Yankee Stadium (on Sunday-map above). more ›

Yesterday, the Daily News created map showing how the World Trade Center will turn the prior super-block of open plazas and buildings into a heavily guarded and gated compound, with entrance limited to those who have been screened and or inspected. more ›

While Forbes named NYC as one of the top singles cities in America last year, it turns out the reason why there are so many singles here is because women outnumber men by roughly 210,000. Things are not looking good, ladies. Apparently we are living in the worst "mating market" in the country! more ›

In the wake of the Turtle Bay crane collapse that left 7 dead and a number of buildings devastated and damaged, The Daily News has a map showing serious crane accidents from the past three years and an investigation about crane accidents have risen. more ›

"White guy" Streeter Seidell created a White Folks’ Guide to the NYC Subway System, though he admits he should have left in Columbia. Our stop was omitted, was yours? View larger image here. [via Gawker] more ›