About Notify NYC

New York City has created a dedicated emergency notification office operating out of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). Notify NYC staff work in OEM Watch Command, where they constantly monitor emergency activity in New York City and the metropolitan area.

The goal for Notify NYC is to provide the information you want to receive, the way you want to receive it. Registration offers five notifications types:

• Emergency Alerts – messages about life-threatening events that may require immediate action. All registrants are automatically added to this list.
• Significant Event Notifications – important information about emergency events, utility outages and other types of high-impact events in your area code.
• Public Health Notifications – information about important public health issues in your community.
• Public School Closing/Delay Advisories – updates about unscheduled public school closings, delays, and early dismissals.
• Unscheduled Parking Rules Suspensions – updates about unscheduled suspensions of citywide parking rules.
• Sign Language Videos – subscribers can receive notifications in video format to accommodate their needs. The videos also are available on Notify NYC’s YouTube page.

Notify NYC started as a pilot program in December of 2007 in four areas. It went citywide May 2009 as a means to communicate localized emergency information quickly to city residents. The City wanted a way to update New Yorkers quickly with official information after several incidents occurred in 2007, such as: tornadoes, a steam pipe explosion, and crane collapses. Since its inception, Notify NYC has sent out thousands of notifications about local emergencies.

To make Notify NYC even more valuable, we want your input on the development and future of Notify NYC services. Take the survey or send feedback about what you would like to see incorporated into the program.

Notify NYC is just one way the City of New York seeks to communicate urgent information to city residents. In addition to sending e-mails, text messages, tweets, and phone calls, the emergency notification office has the ability to activate NYC’s Emergency Alert System (EAS), which sends information immediately via television and radio. Additional technologies are always being evaluated as they become available, including new social networking tools. For more information, visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.