Let me be clear: I've never claimed ownership over any part of the map, nor have I ever tried to forbid mapping in any area. My core desire was always to see more mappers contributing to NYC. There's still an immense amount of work to be done – adding, improving, and updating.

My involvement in reviewing edits around NYC was born from my familiarity with the city. I live here, I know it. My goal was to ensure that such a highly visible and important area maintained the highest possible map quality. I wanted NYC to be a showcase and reference for OSM. When I saw what I considered to be inaccurate or suboptimal mapping, I'd comment on those changesets. This wasn't about stagnating the map; it was about seeking clarification, suggesting corrections, and ultimately, helping to prevent future mistakes, improve mapping standards and minimize the amount of changesets I would need to review. When I see edits from people that I know they consistently generate quality edits I only randomly look at their stuff to see if I can spot any unintentional mistakes.

Throughout my 15 years with OpenStreetMap, and particularly in recent years, I've navigated many disagreements. There have been misunderstandings and frustrations, of course. But every time, these issues were resolved respectfully, and we all learned something. What I've just experienced from @catgirlseraid, however, was a shocking and unprecedented "fuck you, fuck off" attitude towards my reviews and these following edits.

And when it came to "raising it with the community"? I tried. On Discord. My concerns were met with dismissive mockery – "🤓👆Ummmm, akschulally" and similar garbage.

The idea of "don't throw your toys out of the pram" misses the point entirely. These "toys" no longer bring me joy; they bring only stress. I'm no longer willing to endure that.

I'm increasingly seeing a trend where the community leans towards turning OSM into an art project with aesthetically pleasing shapes on Carto, essentially tagging for the renderer, instead of adhering to the principle of renderer-agnostic, data-accurate mapping. I'm no longer interested in fighting against it. I'm no longer interested in reviewing anything, nor am I interested in editing. I am simply done.

The 8,000 people who edit OSM daily will continue to improve the map, but I will not be among them.

P.S. As for the buildings @catgirlseraid re-added: they are temporary, seasonal tents erected and removed for various events. They are not permanent fixtures that should be mapped on OpenStreetMap. But I suppose that detail is irrelevant if it "looks good on Carto" for a personal portfolio website.