The New York Times’s Verlyn Klinkenborg takes a look at the City of New York’s mapping portal, NYCityMap:

At first, NYCityMap feels a little clunky, especially if you’re used to navigating in Google Maps. But what’s interesting are its hidden dimensions. With a few clicks, you can pull up an unbelievable wealth of information about any address or neighborhood. You can find the nearest greenmarket, the year of construction on almost any building, the record of restaurant inspections in the neighboring blocks, etc. In other words, the surface map is really a map to all the maps hidden within it. It is an extensive municipal guide to New York City, organized geographically.

Where it says “feels a little clunky,” read “is your standard web-based GIS interface.”