Gawker Stalker

Wed Jan 9, 2013
12:20 PM
Nick Denton Surely Has a Death Wish

Map

Zip code: 10471, Licenses: 133 Zip code: 10470, Licenses: 95 Zip code: 10466, Licenses: 214 Zip code: 10467, Licenses: 203 Zip code: 10463, Licenses: 280 Zip code: 10475, Licenses: 361 Zip code: 10464, Licenses: 81 Zip code: 10475, Licenses: 361 Zip code: 10468, Licenses: 117 Zip code: 10469, Licenses: 298 Zip code: 10458, Licenses: 121 Zip code: 10034, Licenses: 67 Zip code: 10033, Licenses: 78 Zip code: 10040, Licenses: 45 Zip code: 10465, Licenses: 531 Zip code: 10453, Licenses: 90 Zip code: 10460, Licenses: 107 Zip code: 10461, Licenses: 322 Zip code: 10457, Licenses: 83 Zip code: 10462, Licenses: 323 Zip code: 10032, Licenses: 75 Zip code: 10452, Licenses: 83 Zip code: 10456, Licenses: 75 Zip code: 10472, Licenses: 114 Zip code: 10031, Licenses: 79 Zip code: 10039, Licenses: 70 Zip code: 10459, Licenses: 58 Zip code: 10451, Licenses: 120 Zip code: 10473, Licenses: 283 Zip code: 10030, Licenses: 49 Zip code: 10474, Licenses: 43 Zip code: 10027, Licenses: 106 Zip code: 10455, Licenses: 51 Zip code: 10037, Licenses: 86 Zip code: 10454, Licenses: 35 Zip code: 10024, Licenses: 116 Zip code: 10025, Licenses: 180 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10035, Licenses: 44 Zip code: 10026, Licenses: 62 Zip code: 10035, Licenses: 44 Zip code: 10029, Licenses: 114 Zip code: 11357, Licenses: 498 Zip code: 11370, Licenses: 90 Zip code: 11356, Licenses: 143 Zip code: 11360, Licenses: 170 Zip code: 11105, Licenses: 139 Zip code: 10128, Licenses: 145 Zip code: 11371, Licenses: 3 Zip code: 10023, Licenses: 148 Zip code: 10023, Licenses: 148 Zip code: 11102, Licenses: 75 Zip code: 10028, Licenses: 138 Zip code: 10021, Licenses: 247 Zip code: 10021, Licenses: 247 Zip code: 10069, Licenses: 11 Zip code: 11354, Licenses: 197 Zip code: 11361, Licenses: 236 Zip code: 11370, Licenses: 90 Zip code: 11358, Licenses: 267 Zip code: 10044, Licenses: 11 Zip code: 10019, Licenses: 142 Zip code: 11369, Licenses: 93 Zip code: 11103, Licenses: 107 Zip code: 10162, Licenses: 3 Zip code: 11106, Licenses: 133 Zip code: 10036, Licenses: 116 Zip code: 11377, Licenses: 237 Zip code: 10022, Licenses: 157 Zip code: 10022, Licenses: 157 Zip code: 10153, Licenses: 2 Zip code: 11368, Licenses: 147 Zip code: 11355, Licenses: 175 Zip code: 11101, Licenses: 87 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10018, Licenses: 42 Zip code: 11364, Licenses: 265 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10001, Licenses: 88 Zip code: 10001, Licenses: 88 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10020, Licenses: 11 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10017, Licenses: 58 Zip code: 10017, Licenses: 58 Zip code: 10017, Licenses: 58 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 11372, Licenses: 117 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10177, Licenses: 1 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10170, Licenses: 1 Zip code: 10165, Licenses: 2 Zip code: 10016, Licenses: 142 Zip code: 10011, Licenses: 127 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 11365, Licenses: 210 Zip code: 11104, Licenses: 64 Zip code: 11373, Licenses: 145 Zip code: 10010, Licenses: 85 Zip code: 10014, Licenses: 75 Zip code: 11427, Licenses: 123 Zip code: 11367, Licenses: 148 Zip code: 11375, Licenses: 292 Zip code: 10003, Licenses: 147 Zip code: 11222, Licenses: 139 Zip code: 11378, Licenses: 263 Zip code: 11374, Licenses: 174 Zip code: 10009, Licenses: 212 Zip code: 11366, Licenses: 60 Zip code: 10012, Licenses: 69 Zip code: 11423, Licenses: 122 Zip code: 11379, Licenses: 365 Zip code: 11428, Licenses: 82 Zip code: 11432, Licenses: 150 Zip code: 11211, Licenses: 185 Zip code: 11429, Licenses: 139 Zip code: 11435, Licenses: 134 Zip code: 11237, Licenses: 66 Zip code: 11415, Licenses: 73 Zip code: 11385, Licenses: 514 Zip code: 11206, Licenses: 122 Zip code: 11418, Licenses: 120 Zip code: 11412, Licenses: 166 Zip code: 11433, Licenses: 91 Zip code: 11421, Licenses: 280 Zip code: 11411, Licenses: 190 Zip code: 11221, Licenses: 171 Zip code: 11419, Licenses: 141 Zip code: 11434, Licenses: 350 Zip code: 11208, Licenses: 202 Zip code: 11207, Licenses: 233 Zip code: 11216, Licenses: 132 Zip code: 11416, Licenses: 77 Zip code: 11413, Licenses: 302 Zip code: 11233, Licenses: 185 Zip code: 11420, Licenses: 165 Zip code: 11436, Licenses: 81 Zip code: 11417, Licenses: 162 Zip code: 11422, Licenses: 191 Zip code: 11213, Licenses: 119 Zip code: 11212, Licenses: 170 Zip code: 11414, Licenses: 385 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 11203, Licenses: 234 Zip code: 11236, Licenses: 318 Zip code: 11239, Licenses: 49 Zip code: 10301, Licenses: 318 Zip code: 11219, Licenses: 162 Zip code: 10310, Licenses: 260 Zip code: 10302, Licenses: 177 Zip code: 11210, Licenses: 224 Zip code: 11693, Licenses: 100 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 10304, Licenses: 306 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 11691, Licenses: 118 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 11691, Licenses: 118 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 10305, Licenses: 433 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 11693, Licenses: 100 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 10306, Licenses: 946 Zip code: 11693, Licenses: 100 Zip code: 11693, Licenses: 100 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 10312, Licenses: 1274 Zip code: 10314, Licenses: 1067 Zip code: 10314, Licenses: 1067 Zip code: 10308, Licenses: 593 Zip code: 10309, Licenses: 633 Zip code: 10307, Licenses: 269 Zip code: 10464, Licenses: 81 Zip code: 10464, Licenses: 81 Zip code: 10002, Licenses: 238 Zip code: 10013, Licenses: 152 Zip code: 10282, Licenses: 6 Zip code: 10007, Licenses: 41 Zip code: 10007, Licenses: 41 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10280, Licenses: 24 Zip code: 10038, Licenses: 158 Zip code: 10048, Licenses: 1 Zip code: 10279, Licenses: 3 Zip code: 10006, Licenses: 9 Zip code: 10005, Licenses: 15 Zip code: 10271, Licenses: 1 Zip code: 11205, Licenses: 82 Zip code: 10004, Licenses: 43 Zip code: 11201, Licenses: 151 Zip code: , Licenses: Zip code: 10004, Licenses: 43 Zip code: 10004, Licenses: 43 Zip code: 11238, Licenses: 151 Zip code: 11217, Licenses: 99 Zip code: 11231, Licenses: 124 Zip code: 11215, Licenses: 199 Zip code: 11225, Licenses: 136 Zip code: 11232, Licenses: 75 Zip code: 11218, Licenses: 234 Zip code: 11226, Licenses: 183 Zip code: 11220, Licenses: 203 Zip code: 10303, Licenses: 139 Zip code: 11209, Licenses: 539 Zip code: 11234, Licenses: 767 Zip code: 11230, Licenses: 199 Zip code: 11204, Licenses: 257 Zip code: 11228, Licenses: 367 Zip code: 11096, Licenses: 42 Zip code: 11691, Licenses: 118 Zip code: 10314, Licenses: 1067 Zip code: 11214, Licenses: 388 Zip code: 11229, Licenses: 561 Zip code: 11691, Licenses: 118 Zip code: 11223, Licenses: 289 Zip code: 11691, Licenses: 118 Zip code: 11692, Licenses: 46 Zip code: 11235, Licenses: 347 Zip code: 11694, Licenses: 265 Zip code: 11224, Licenses: 147 Zip code: 11697, Licenses: 151

Yesterday Gawker posted an article including the names of people with licenses to carry guns.  Fine.  Nothing wrong with that.  But in the headline, each and every single one of them is referred to as an asshole.  Of all the ridiculous things Nick Denton has done with the site, this has to be the least thought out.  There were so many better and less offensive ways to cover this story.  The map above shows zip codes in the city by number of people with gun licenses (dark red means more licenses).  It probably is a lot more informative than the whole Gawker post which was followed up by another in which some person with questionable mental stability (much like the staff at Gawker) made threatening remarks to the site.

The very first comment on that article mentions a person who has been left alone by his or her stalker.  When an upstate newspaper posted the name of the commenter, the stalker returned.  That is just one scenario in which what Gawker did can be harmful to people.  As John Cook mentions in the article, there are several different types of gun licenses issued by the state.  John is infatuated with wealthy men so he focused on the fact that some banksters have guns.  As if this is some stunning revelation.  John, banksters have something much more powerful than guns: their ability to own the government and draft laws that make sure you and I lose while they win.  But that is too difficult a subject for Gawker, the cockroach of the internet, to tackle.  It seems so is gun ownership.

While John is busy posting people's names online without thinking, he never had to work the night shift in a bodega.  Many of the people in John's list are people that work low-income jobs like working in bodegas or newsstands throughout the night in neighborhoods John probably never even heard of.  What has posting this list accomplished?  The people whose names are not on the list are likely to be targets for robberies.  And what will that do?  Some of them will go and seek a gun license as well.  I would like John Cook and Nick Denton to spend one night in a retail establishment in Morrisania and see if they will feel fine with everyone knowing they are unarmed.

This is real difficult for me to type as I am no proponent of guns, but Gawker has this way of trivializing issues so much, you kind of wish they were on the opposite side of the political spectrum.  Why should our side be associated with idiots like this?  This is not the first time Gawker has done something extremely stupid.  These are the same people that took on the users of a site that are known for their abilities to hack computers.  They took down Gawker's commenting system which now has to rely on third parties.  And who knows what the hell they did wrong when they went out of service during hurricane Sandy?  Does Nick never learn?

Anyway, getting back to the list.  The map above shows gun ownership by zip code.  As John mentioned in his article, people can license their gun based on either their home, work, or some other address, so even this map is a little dubious.  But it does show some interesting things.  The highest rates of gun licenses are in Staten Island.  As a matter of fact the three zip codes with the highest rates are all in Staten Island as are half of the top ten (Staten Island is the least populous of the five boroughs).  I do not know if cops need to acquire one of these licenses to own a gun but if they do that would make sense as a large portion of the city's police force lives there.  The table below lists the ten areas with the highest number of licenses.

Zip Code Neighborhood(s), Borough Number of Gun Licenses
10312 Great Kills/Eltingville, Staten Island 1274
10314 Fresh Kills/Travis, Staten Island 1067
10306 New Dorp/Oakwood, Staten Island 946
11234 Bergen Beach/Mill Basin, Brooklyn 767
10309 Prince's Bay/Woodrow, Staten Island 633
10308 Bay Terrace, Staten Island 593
11229 Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn 561
11209 Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 539
10465 Throgs Neck, The Bronx 531
11385 Ridgewood/Glendale, Queens 514

LOL at Great Kills and Fresh Kills topping the list?  The zip code with the most gun licenses in Manhattan is 10021 in the Upper East Side with 247 licenses issued.  It ranks 39th out of 182 zip codes in the database citywide.  The table below lists the ten areas with the least number of licenses (some of these are singular buildings or city blocks).

Zip Code Neighborhood(s), Borough Number of Gun Licenses
10282 Battery Park City, Manhattan 6
11371 LaGuardia Airport, Queens 3
10162 Upper East Side, Manhattan 3
10279 Civic Center, Manhattan 3
10153 Turtle Bay/Lenox Hill, Manhattan 2
10165 Murray Hill, Manhattan 2
10177 Murray Hill, Manhattan 1
10170 Murray Hill, Manhattan 1
10048 World Trade Center, Manhattan 1
10271 Financial District, Manhattan 1

So the banksters do not need guns after all.  Anyway, the map above and the tables would be far more informative if they were based on a per capita measure.  Some of these zip codes are considerably larger in size and/or population than others.  I am kind of busy today, so I will not have time to get to this, but if there is interest I might work on it later this week.

I would just like to point out that Cryptome has had this list posted since Christmas time and Gawker did not even credit them.  If you would like the list in its entirety, please acquire it (zip format) from Cryptome directly.  Cryptome has done a considerable amount of work with obtaining documents from government agencies and I would like to credit John Young and Deborah Natsios for all the fine work they have done over the years.


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12 comments

Avatar of photog17photog17
January 9th, 2013  2:00 PM

Denton has completely lost his marbles. You’re right you could have just posted the map, and much more would have been learned than that whole diatribe, and I too hate guns.


Avatar of AsFarAsImConcernedNelliesStillFantasticAsFarAsImConcernedNelliesStillFantastic
January 9th, 2013  2:54 PM

Gawker is old news. Nick made some dumb decisions about where he wants to take his site and it will eventually wither and die. You do not need to lower yourselves to this. Just keep doing the stuff you guys do.


Avatar of MissAdviceMissAdvice
January 9th, 2013  4:14 PM

The top ten are in all Italian neighborhoods. I wonder why?


Avatar of UncleJimMullingUncleJimMulling
January 9th, 2013  8:08 PM

Everybody with a gun lives on Staten Island. Just send all the guns there and blow up the Verrazano.


Avatar of PeanutPeanut
January 10th, 2013  8:45 AM

This should have been two separate articles. One on the Gawker stuff and the other on the data.