Hi Product Hunt! I’m the solo maker behind NewPlace. The project began with a simple question: if someone wants to open a café, grocery store, salon, clinic or another local business, where in New York City should they begin looking? A lot of relevant information already exists, but it is scattered across business records, demographic statistics, employment data, transit schedules and commercial-rent reports. Looking at any one dataset gives only a small part of the picture. I built a data pipeline that cleans, classifies and combines these sources across 10 business categories and 55 subcategories. The project gradually evolved from a map of business density into three separate layers—competitors, modeled client demand and rent affordability—and a combined view that adapts its assumptions to the selected business type. The application uses Python for data processing, H3 for the hexagonal grid and MapLibre for the interactive map. Codex assisted with parts of the development and debugging, but the displayed scores are produced by deterministic calculations rather than generative AI. NewPlace is free and does not require registration. It is intentionally a screening tool, not a promise that a business will succeed at a particular location. Green areas are simply places that may deserve closer investigation through current listings, professional advice and visits in person. I would especially appreciate feedback from NYC business owners, commercial-real-estate specialists and data people: • Do the visible patterns match your local knowledge? • Which assumptions or missing data should be improved? • Which business categories would you like to see added or refined? Thanks for exploring it!

NYC Business Map

Compare NYC areas before opening your next business

Compare NYC areas before opening your next business