​The Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon and Transit Techies welcome you to attend presentations by Joel Chapman on Transit Access, and Ben McCarthy on My3DTrains!

Connect with NYU Tandon CUSP and Transit Techies NYC at this talk and enjoy networking over light bites and refreshments. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own food.

The event will be held at 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY in Room 1201. We hope to see you there!

​Graphic courtesy of My3DTrains.

​About the Speakers

​Ben McCarthy is an artist who learned to program in order to bring 3D models to life and visualize data in creative ways. Think of the subway as a massive kinetic sculpture, but until now, you’ve only been able to experience the system one car at a time, and often in the isolated darkness of a tunnel. My3DTrains is a subway centric transit app that allows New Yorkers to experience the full scale and complexity of the subway system while providing them with accurate routes and trip times. Stand clear of the closing doors, and come along for a breakdown of how to build a 3D transit app!

Joel Chapman (he/him) is a New York City-based disability advocate. He is the founder of Transit Access, a community dedicated to making transit navigable for disabled people. In addition to hosting meetups for disabled people to tackle unaddressed needs in riding public transit, transitaccess.org is also a web app centering the accessibility of the NYC subway. It shows exact locations of elevators and their real-time status on an interactive map, custom accessibility notes designed to ease the anxiety of traveling while disabled, and is a hub for anyone trying to follow the myriad changes the MTA is making in their accessibility between now and 2055, when the system will be 95% accessible (it is currently 26%). As the organization grows, Transit Access will expand to other cities.  

Joel is also a songwriter, bass-baritone, and conductor. With backgrounds in choral music, accessibility advocacy, musical theater, and comedy, Joel brings fresh spins and improbable ideas to the forefront of his art and leadership.

He is co-creator of Gravity, a New(tonian) Musical — 2025 NAMT Finalist, 2025 Lucille Lortel Finalist, 2017 O’Neill National Music Theater Conference finalist — and will be seen in NYC this November.

​Joel is an avid Go player, enjoys cats and dogs equally, and loves public transit.

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​Visitor Information

​Please visit the NYU Tandon website for directions and a campus map. Advance registration through Luma is required for campus access at NYU for external guests. Attendees who are not current students, faculty, or staff at NYU, including alumni, are asked to register using a personal email address.

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About CUSP at NYU Tandon

​The Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at NYU Tandon is an interdisciplinary center dedicated to applying science, technology, engineering, math, and social sciences to serve urban communities worldwide.

​Founded as a partnership between NYU and the City of New York, CUSP leads research, educational, and entrepreneurial initiatives that advance the science of cities. By applying novel insights to urban issues, we develop data- and technology-driven approaches that drive positive impact. With an additional focus on training future leaders, CUSP offers interdisciplinary academic programs in applied urban science and informatics for graduate students and professionals.

​CUSP also engages with stakeholders across city agencies, start-ups, industry players, community-based organizations, and nonprofits to address urgent socioeconomic, environmental, and infrastructural challenges. The center’s ultimate objective is to improve urban quality of life by using data to innovate and refine inclusive, equitable, and sustainable practices for cities everywhere.

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​About Transit Techies NYC

​Bringing together the technologists who love transit and the transit enthusiasts who hack! We'll have speakers present transit-related projects. Presenters may be household hackers, data scientists, researchers, product developers, or you! All presentations will be technical and awesome. Learn more about Transit Techies NYC and join the MeetUp Group.