{"id":314152,"date":"2026-08-05T08:24:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/314152\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T08:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:24:32","slug":"block-by-block-walking-app-hit-with-cease-and-desist-by-nyc-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/314152\/","title":{"rendered":"Block-By-Block Walking App Hit With Cease and Desist by NYC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heyyy, they\u2019re walkin\u2019 here!<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Transportation Department has hit an app that tracks New Yorkers\u2019 block-by-block walking routes with a cease-and-desist letter. DOT wants the free app, called WalkNYC<\/a>, to walk away and come back with a new name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because WalkNYC has the name of DOT\u2019s trademarked wayfinding program<\/a>, as detailed with maps and directions on sidewalks, near Citi Bike docks and in subway stations. The signs help pedestrians, transit riders and cyclists get around.<\/p>\n

The letter<\/a>, sent July 20, states the app and its ads and online materials use \u201cnearly identical\u201d branding and colors as the city\u2019s WalkNYC materials. The app\u2019s contents \u201chave caused confusion to locals and visitors and intimates that the City of New York is affiliated,\u201d the letter alleges.<\/p>\n

DOT directed the app to stop using WalkNYC branding, disable the website and app, and remove physical and online material promoting it.<\/p>\n

The letter prompted developer Joe Puccio to add a banner to the top of the app that reads, \u201cNYC DOT sent me a cease and desist. Tell them why you use WalkNYC.\u201d App users are directed to a form indicating Puccio wants to share letters of support with DOT from app users.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike the DOT, I want to support the walkers of this city, and I\u2019m hopeful we can work something out with them given that shared goal,\u201d the form states. It includes questions about whether the app changed the way users walk around the city and if users had heard of DOT\u2019s WalkNYC signs and maps before.<\/p>\n

Puccio did not respond to requests for comment from The City Reporter.<\/p>\n

DOT insists the letter is not about shutting the app down but spurring Puccio to come up with a new name and branding for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate every New Yorker who enjoys strolling through the most walkable city in the country \u2014 but app developers cannot use the city\u2019s trademarked branding for their products without permission,\u201d said DOT spokesperson Vincent Barone. \u201cWe do not want there to be any confusion about this product and the city\u2019s wayfinding program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A screenshot of the WalkNYC app shows a message about the cease and desist letter. Credit: WalkNYC<\/p>\n

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the New York City government federal trademark registration<\/a> for WalkNYC in 2014. A decade later, DOT renewed the registration for another 10 years. The registration gives DOT the exclusive right to use WalkNYC and stop others from using the same or similar in association with related services.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Stacy Grossman, founder of the intellectual property firm SGIP, pointed out the app and the city\u2019s wayfinding services appear similar, and both use a \u201cwalking man\u201d icon. She also said other parties do not appear to have used the WalkNYC trademark.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this together suggests that consumers could be confused and the app should change its name,\u201d said Grossman, who doesn\u2019t represent DOT or the app. \u201cThis is precisely why entrepreneurs should do trademark clearance work \u2014 to be sure that a new brand is available for use before launching a new product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracy Jong, senior attorney at the firm Evans Fox LLP who works on intellectual property matters, said it\u2019s possible DOT and Puccio could work out an agreement to allow the WalkNYC app to keep its name.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where one side says, \u2018Hey, we both agree people won\u2019t be confused as long as each of us do the following,\u2019 and you craft appropriate terms,\u201d Jong said. She suggested the app could use a pedometer icon instead of an image of a person walking, or include a disclaimer that the app is not associated with the City of New York.<\/p>\n

The app WalkNYC, which became available on the App Store in May, logs each city block that users walk by marking routes with green on a digital map. A leaderboard shows how users compare to each another, and the app includes statistics about mileage and time spent strolling.<\/p>\n

When he launched the app, Puccio told news outlets he wanted to walk every block in Manhattan and described<\/a> the product as his \u201clittle love letter\u201d to New York City.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heyyy, they\u2019re walkin\u2019 here! The city\u2019s Transportation Department has hit an app that tracks New Yorkers\u2019 block-by-block walking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314153,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-314152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}