In a push to better public communications about real-time public safety trends, New York City officials have introduced a new verified account, “NYC Public Safety,” on the Citizen app. Run by Mayor Eric Adams, the initiative will enable more than three million users in the city to get verified safety alerts through the app.
Real-time user-generated incident reports and notifications are generated on the Citizen app. Through a city-run account, NYC government hopes to build a more on-point and accessible public safety information network that informs New Yorkers about local threats — be it a flood, a crime, a fire, or any other types of emergency.
NYC Public Safety Now Streaming on the Citizen App
Mayor Eric Adams stressed the importance of the collaboration, noting that the Citizen app will now serve as a formal conduit for verified updates from credible city agencies, such as the NYPD, FDNY and NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM).
“From heat emergencies to floods and crime, our new ‘NYC Public Safety’ account on Citizen will provide New Yorkers with the latest information on the threats they face and how their city government is protecting them,” Mayor Adams said.
It also adds to NYC’s arsenal of communication platforms – which already include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, and NotifyNYC – because you can never have enough of those. By leveraging the infrastructure of the Citizen app, the city aims to lower barriers to participation and meet residents where they are — on platforms they already trust and use.
Confirmed Alerts & Real-Time Video Sharing
The Citizen app not only issues alerts on incidents in a user’s area, but allows users to record and report incidents, upload videos and go live from their smartphones. “Now with the NYC Public Safety account, this user-generated footage can be viewed on-demand via a secure dashboard by approved officers in the NYPD, FDNY, and other emergency management personnel.”
Increased access will help emergency services to react more quickly to incidents, understand the situation and review those instances after the fact more efficiently. Being able to see and download user-submitted videos easily via the app provide transparency and could prove critical in subsequent investigations.
How Citizen App Alerts Will Operate for NYC
NYC will send notifications through the Citizen app for:
- Major incidents in real-time
- Ongoing public safety threats
- City-wide emergencies and natural disasters
- Patterns of crime, fraud alerts, safety tips
Any NYC Public Safety alert shared will be confirmed and will be official, minimizing confusion and providing prompt reactions for city dwellers.
One All-Encompassing Safety Platform, for All Five Boroughs
With more than three million NYC users already engaged on the Citizen app, the city is just making the app that much more critical by partnering with it for a public safety account. Safety verified information will now be available to the public, faster and in their area – from Brooklyn to the Bronx!
With NYC continuing to grapple with crime and climate and other emergencies, this joint action by the Citizen app and city agencies is one possible step toward digital-first government and smarter public safety.
