Things move fast in New York, unless you’re trying to sign your kid up for something.  In the New York Times article “Born to Wait: For Parents, a Waiting List for Nearly Everything,” Soni Sangha explores the increase in over-filled classes and long waiting lists for children’s programs.  The story includes data and analysis from Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge.

If waiting in line in the predawn of a January morning for science camp registration sounds crazy, you do not have a New York City child born after 2004. For those children and their parents, especially in the neighborhoods of brownstone Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan and the Upper West Side, not getting into activities, classes, sports teams — and even local schools — has become a way of life. If every generation must have its own designation, call theirs Generation Waiting List…

Sangha goes on to cite Beveridge and include a map highlighting the growth of the youth population in different pockets of the city.

At first blush, the waiting lists are a little surprising, given that in the city there were 7 percent fewer children 9 and younger in 2011 than there were in 2000, according to census findings. Indeed, every borough has seen a decrease in children in that age range.

But the distribution of children is highly uneven, and some neighborhoods, especially those deemed “family friendly,” have seen population explosions that outpace the general population growth, according to an analysis of census data by Andrew A. Beveridge, a sociologist at Queens College.

In Battery Park City-Lower Manhattan, the 9 and younger population has grown by 129 percent over the last decade; uptown, the Lincoln Square neighborhood has seen a 56 percent growth.

In Brooklyn, Park Slope had a 2 percent increase, and its more affordable neighbor, Windsor Terrace, grew by 11 percent. The mostly Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood saw a 25 percent increase.

“The people having kids these days, they are a lot more well off,” Professor Beveridge said, “so those parents are much more likely to have kids who are clients” — of summer camps, music schools and the like.

February is full of special occasions and holidays, and this Tuesday marks two of them–Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and Mardi Gras. Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, and the famed president’s birth is celebrated every year, along with President’s Day. This year, Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday)—the day before the 40-days of Lent begin—also falls on February 12.

Social Explorer look at an intersection of these two events with related data.

One of the cities most associated with Mardi Gras is New Orleans. The city also played a significant role in the life of a young Abraham Lincoln, and might have helped set him on the path towards the Emancipation Proclamation and ending slavery.

Back in 1828, a teenaged Lincoln got a job sailing a flatboat down the Mississippi River. This was the midwesterner’s first trip down south. Three years later, he and two friends were hired for another boat trip.

The contrast between living in Springfield, Illinois, and venturing into the South was striking. According to the 1830 census, in Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield (Sangamon County) had just 13 slaves (nine women and four men) out of a population of 12,960 people (0.1 percent). Meanwhile, in New Orleans, one out of every three residents was a slave (33.4 percent of the 49,826 people).

Map of 1830 Slave Population in Sangamon County, Illinois (click to explore)

Map of 1830 Slave Population in New Orleans, Louisiana (click to explore)

Map of 1830 Slave Population in the United States (click to explore)

Various accounts state that the prominent southern slave trade that the young Lincoln saw on this trip heavily influenced him. On this journey, he witnessed the horrors of a slave auction—an experience said to have prompted him to proclaim an oath to combat slavery, which he fulfilled decades later as president.

For more about the places Lincoln lived, check out Social Explorer’s mapping and reporting tools.

(Photo of Charles Keck young Lincoln sculpture from wiki commons.)

Earlier this week, Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge appeared on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show to talk about the latest in the decennial New York City redistricting battle.  The city’s changing demographics, along with the many other political and legal forces at play, will determine the new districts and thus shape the future of New York City’s politics.  Beveridge and fellow guests discussed incumbency, particular neighborhoods, minority representation, proposed district lines and alternatives, reform efforts, and more.  Listen to the the full conversation in the segment below:

Since the most recent City Council redistricting proposal, negotiations have been taking place to further adjust the balance of power among New York City communities. In advance of Wednesday’s public hearing, several experts weigh in on NYC’s changing demographics and how redistricting will affect city council elections.

• Jerry Vattamala staff attorney, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Andrew Beveridge professor of sociology at Queens College, CUNY Graduate Center and the man behind Social Explorer
• Esmerelda Simmons founder and executive director of the Center for Law and Social Justice in Brooklyn