In-depth architectural comparison of the NYC Open Data and Data Providence MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
NYC Open Data
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Data Providence
Developer Tools · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 49/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose NYC Open Data if you need specialized Developer Tools tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose Data Providence if your workspace requires Developer Tools integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
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Choose NYC Open Data when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Search the NYC Open Data catalog of open datasets by keyword. Returns each dataset's resource_id, name, description, category and update date — pass the resource_id to query/metadata.
query
Run a Socrata SoQL query against a NYC Open Data dataset by resource_id (e.g. "8wbx-tsch"). Filter with where/select/group/order (SoQL clauses, without the leading $) plus limit/offset. Returns matching rows as JSON.
metadata
Get a NYC Open Data dataset's schema + metadata (columns, types, row count, category, last-updated) by resource_id, e.g. "8wbx-tsch".
Data Providence Tools (3)
datasets
Search the Providence Open Data catalog of open datasets by keyword. Returns each dataset's resource_id, name, description, category and update date — pass the resource_id to query/metadata.
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
NYC Open Data is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. In contrast, Data Providence belongs to Developer Tools using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select NYC Open Data when you need capabilities focused on developer tools and Data Providence when you require tools for developer tools.
Run a Socrata SoQL query against a Providence Open Data dataset by resource_id (e.g. "vank-fyx9"). Filter with where/select/group/order (SoQL clauses, without the leading $) plus limit/offset. Returns matching rows as JSON.
metadata
Get a Providence Open Data dataset's schema + metadata (columns, types, row count, category, last-updated) by resource_id, e.g. "vank-fyx9".