CityMaps Gives On-the-Spot Details About Stores Near You PLATFORM iPhone and iOS devices; Android version in the works There are many smartphone apps that will help you find the best restaurants, shops or nightclubs. But if you're standing on a corner and you want to know about every single thing on that street, including the best boutique and the most mediocre deli, it's surprisingly hard to find a map. The founders of a project called CityMaps have spent more than two years working to fill that gap. This month, after a testing period, they released their Web site and introduced an iPhone app. An Android version, they say, will be ready within weeks. CityMaps shows a plain view of the street grid, covered with the logos of each retail store on a block. Stores that do not have a logo are identified by their names. I like to think of New York as more than just a white background filled with establishments trying to sell me things, so I was a bit taken aback by this view. The display bears an uncanny resemblance to "Logorama," which won the Oscar for best animated short of 2009. But aesthetics aside, CityMaps proves to be quite useful. Clicking on any store brings up its address and phone number. If it is a movie theater, the entry has show times; if it is a parking garage, you can see its rates. The app also pulls in posts from social media sites like Twitter and FourSquare. I opened the entry for the FedEx store on West 43rd Street and found out that the night staff members were knowledgeable, and that Beatrice was the best (or at least she was 10 months ago, when a FourSquare user posted a note about her). Much of this information is available in other places. But it's nice to be able to look at a bar's official Twitter feed when you're just down the block. "We want to amplify that messaging," said Elliot Cohen, one of the two founders of CityMaps. You don't sit down and follow 30 bars on Twitter. According to Mr. Cohen, CityMaps contains every street-level establishment in Manhattan. By his count, that is 34,209 stores, 1,264 of which are dry cleaners. The rest of the city is expected to be included soon. Of course, a map of New York that was accurate when you started reading this article is already embarrassingly out of date. The solution to staying current, CityMaps" founders say, is to get help. The most obvious collaborators are store owners, who can claim control of their entries. Hundreds have already done so, Mr. Cohen said. That allows businesses to add extra content, logos or other features that will make them stand out on the map, though they will not be able to edit what users say about them. I hope that not too many of them opt for the flashing cash sign that has started showing up on several places on the map. CityMaps plans to make money by eventually charging for some of these services. The project's founders also hope users will keep the service up to date. Mr. Cohen says there will soon be a Wikipedia-like system that lets users post updates directly to the Web site and mobile app. Until then, you have to fill out an e-mail form. Mr. Cohen says he reads every e-mail, eventually, but also acknowledges there are hundreds waiting in his in-box. Have a favorite New York City app? Send tips via e-mail to appcity@nytimes.com or via Twitter to @joshuabrustein.