We use an essential cookie for sign-in and security. Optional storage can remember your dashboard panel choices on this device. It stays off until you accept it. HeatAhead doesn't add analytics or advertising cookies.
Item
What it does
How long
heatahead_account
Essential sign-in and security cookie
Up to 30 days if you choose to stay signed in; otherwise the browser session, up to 12 hours
heatahead_privacy
Essential browser storage that remembers your cookie choice
180 days, unless you clear browser data
heatahead_panels
Optional local copy of your dashboard choices
Until removed, or until the cookie choice expires or you reject optional storage
Rejecting optional storage keeps browsing and sign-in available. Settings you choose to save to your account are separate from this local copy.
Accounts & building alerts
Google sign-in supplies your verified email address, name and an account identifier. We don't receive your Google password or request Gmail, Drive or contacts access. Email-link sign-in uses your email address. If you choose a password, we store only a one-way hash of it, never the password itself.
Saved building IDs, alert choices, dashboard preferences and any optional phone number you provide are stored on the team's server. You can remove saved buildings and stop building alerts from your account. We keep these while you use the service; contact us to request removal of remaining account information.
Public building records describe properties rather than individual tenants. Owner and agent details come from public registration records, with business addresses only.
Project-update emails
The newsletter asks for your email and an optional name. You join only after confirming the email link. It is separate from building heat alerts, and you don't need an account.
We store your signup, confirmation and subscription status on the team's server. The configured email provider processes the address and message to deliver confirmation emails and updates. Unsubscribe through the link in a newsletter; it doesn't change your building alerts. We retain subscription status to honor your choice. Contact us if you want your newsletter record removed.
We don't sell the newsletter list or automatically add people who sign in or save a building.
Maps, photos & other services
Map pages load map software from unpkg and map tiles from CARTO. Aerial photos load from Esri ArcGIS. Address search sends the address text to NYC Planning GeoSearch. Those services receive the normal network information needed to answer a request, such as your IP address.
Google Street View opens on Google's website when you choose its link. Google sign-in also takes you to Google. External services use their own privacy and cookie policies; HeatAhead's optional-storage control doesn't change those policies.
The site guide answers common questions locally. If AI matching is enabled, an unfamiliar question and the previous help topic can be sent to the configured provider to suggest a published help question. Account identity and earlier chat messages aren't included. The app doesn't save guide chats. Please keep personal details and secrets out of questions.
Vercel and the team's server process requests and operational logs to run the site. An email to our team is handled through Gmail. For privacy questions or a correction, contact heataheadnyc@gmail.com.
Cookie settings
You can change your choices here at any time.
Analytics and advertising: not used by HeatAhead.
Maps and photos use external providers when you view them. These settings control HeatAhead's optional browser storage.
About external services
Ask HeatAhead
Help with the site
Not sure how to word it? Try a few words. We'll suggest close matches.
Please leave out passwords, email addresses, phone numbers and apartment numbers.
No close matches. Try fewer words or choose All topics.
Getting started
Map and risk
Data and privacy
Accounts and alerts
What to do
How HeatAhead works
1
Check the weather
Forecasts show when freezing weather is expected.
2
Look at past problems
Past complaints, violations and building records help the model estimate heating risk.
3
Choose what to do
Tenants and owners can review a building. Inspectors can see which places the model suggests checking first.
A student project by NYU Tingineers for the IBM Z Datathon. The model work ran on IBM LinuxONE. HeatAhead is independent of NYC311 and HPD.
Read the map
Color shows winter risk
Darker blue means higher estimated risk. A hexagon shows the average score of the properties inside it. Zoom in to see each property's colored dot.
Height shows past complaints
Taller hexagons mean more heating complaints were recorded last season. They don't show the number of buildings or their actual height.
Click a hexagon
You'll see a list of buildings, with higher scores first. Use Next to see more. Click a building in the list to open its record.
Zoom in for a closer look
The city view uses larger hexagons so it's easier to read. Zoom in to see smaller areas, then colored dots for each property. Gray building shapes come from the background map. One property record can cover more than one building.
Winter risk covers the whole season. Cold-day risk looks at a shorter period around freezing weather. They cover different lengths of time, so the numbers can be different.
See how it was checked
On a building's page, open How accurate is this number? It compares predictions with what happened in a winter the model wasn't trained on. This helps check the model overall, but can't say for sure what will happen to one building.
A high score doesn't mean the heat has failed. A low score doesn't rule out a problem.
Some heating problems never get reported, so they may be missing from the records.
From 20% up, scores are shown as ranges. No score goes above 99%.
If a building has no score, we don't have an estimate for it. It can still have heating problems.
Check your building's history and the available owner details. Sign in to save a building for email alerts. Emails also need the team's alert service to be running.
We use public NYC records about buildings, heat complaints, violations, owners and boilers, along with weather data. Some records may be missing or out of date. A complaint means someone reported a problem; it doesn't mean an inspector confirmed it.
The map is about buildings, not individual tenants. Saving a building for alerts links it to your verified email. HeatAhead doesn't see your Google password. Owner and agent details come from public business records.
When you sign in with Google, we receive only your verified email address, your name and Google's account id for you; we keep no Google access tokens and ask for no Drive, Gmail or contacts access. An email sign-in link uses your address the same way. Your saved buildings, alert choices and dashboard panels are stored on the team's own server and are never sold or shared. You can remove a saved building or stop every alert from your profile at any time, and signing out clears the sign-in cookie on that device.
The help chat uses published answers. It can suggest close matches when a question is unclear or has a typo. Common questions stay on your device. If AI matching is enabled, an unfamiliar question and the previous help topic may be sent to a provider to suggest a published question. Your Google account details and earlier messages aren't included. We don't save guide chats in this app. Please leave out passwords, contact details and apartment numbers.
The photos were taken earlier; they aren't live. The guide can show you where to go. Sending a message, reporting a problem or changing alerts is still up to you.