Lowering Barriers to Open Data: Classroom to CRAN w/ Christian Martinez- nyhackr May Meetup

Visit https://www.nyhackr.org to learn more and follow https://x.com/nyhackr Talk Title- Lowering the Barrier to Open Data: From Classroom Problem to CRAN Package Talk Description- Many learners struggle with R not because of syntax, but because the data feels disconnected from their lives. In my teaching, I found that relevance drives rigor—when students care about the data, they push themselves to learn the methods. Shifting from generic datasets to real civic data from the NYC Open Data Portal transformed engagement, but introduced a new challenge: accessing that data required working with APIs. To lower this barrier, I developed the nycOpenData R package, allowing users to explore and analyze NYC Open Data without needing to first learn API mechanics. In this talk, I’ll share how this classroom problem evolved into a CRAN package, how it was refined through feedback from rOpenSci, and how this approach has expanded to broader open data ecosystems. Ultimately, this work highlights how reducing technical friction can unlock more meaningful, accessible, and impactful data analysis. Bio- Christian Martinez is a data scientist, educator, and founder of Angles Analytics, focused on making data analysis more reproducible, accessible, and impactful. As an adjunct lecturer at CUNY, he teaches students how to move beyond simply running code to building end-to-end, real-world data workflows using R, Quarto, and open data. He is the creator of the nycOpenData, nysOpenData, and mtaOpenData R packages, which simplify access to public datasets and support a growing ecosystem of civic data analysis. His work extends into open educational resources, including a textbook on reproducible research and the NYC Open Data Student Gallery, where students publish data-driven research on issues affecting their communities. Christian’s work has been featured in academic, civic tech, and data science spaces, and he is a speaker at conferences such as useR! 2026 and posit::conf(2026). His broader mission is to bridge data, storytelling, and public impact—helping others use data not just to analyze the world, but to improve it.