Before the modern day, single subway system, New York City had three separate, independently operated subway companies: the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), and the Independent Subway System (IND). This vintage subway map was created in 1958 by the New York City Transit Authority and attempts to clearly show all three services and all of their stops, yet ended up with a rather confusing system of red, green, and black lines.

Now in it's tenth year, the State of the Chains report from the Center for an Urban Future is an annual report which studies how major retail and food chains impact New York City. The 2017 report was just released and shows a 1.8% increase in the number of chains City-wide.

The tenth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City by the Center for an Urban Future (CUF) shows a 1.8 percent increase in the number of store locations over last year. Though this is the ninth consecutive year with a net increase in national chain stores across the five boroughs, the growth was limited to a relatively small number of retailers. […] CUF’s analysis shows that the 296 retailers listed in last year’s ranking expanded their footprint in New York City by 94 store locations, growing from a total of 7,223 stores in 2016 to 7,317 stores in 2017—a 1.8 percent increase. Chains gained locations in every borough except Staten Island.

The number one retailer City-wide? Dunkin Donuts with 612 stores across the 5 boroughs.

Check out the full report for full details and insight into what these numbers mean for our City.

Good morning! Wishing you a happy Saturday, December 30th, 2017 from all of us at Viewing NYC!

Here's what the weather looks like in the City right now.