Admittedly, New York City is a whirlwind of activity. We all know this, it is not new. But traveling here or living here can leave you feeling like you are playing catch up to keep abreast of the news that you need to get things done. And I mean vital news that affects your day, not celebrity updates. That’s why you need to know about Notify NYC program, get the app, or sign up for the alerts.

We’ve all been there, you’ve gotten caught out there with street closures, been inconvenienced by trains bypassing your local station, gotten a ticket for parking during rules being suspended, crazy snow squalls are just a couple of examples. Life comes at you fast in the big city and you need to stay ahead of it.

Wow! Check out this time lapse of the #SnowSquall moving over Manhattan. Crazy cool view from the top of One World Trade Center. pic.twitter.com/K7kxjcA0Zt

— David Jones (@DavidJonesTV) December 18, 2019

What is the Notify NYC?

Notify NYC is a free program that started in 2007. It is a way to alert you of numerous emergencies that are occurring in the city without having to search for the information. Notify NYC sends outs notifications for a long list of situations.

I signed up through my alma mater in 2010 and it has been handy ever since. This service is clutch when you are a true New Yorker constantly running from location to location just getting through your day or a tourist who doesn’t need anything to go wrong with your plans when you have limited time to enjoy your visit. It’s the best route for keeping the city residents aware minute by minute of any widespread emergency in the city and the areas affected by it.

Let me tell you all the notifications that Notify NYC applies to:

• Emergency alerts: This includes ongoing critical incidents concerning your safety and missing persons, amber and silver alerts.
• Emergency Parking Suspension: Updates about the unscheduled emergency of citywide parking rules.
• Ferry Disruptions: Messages about service changes.
• Mass Transit Disruptions Local and Widespread: Widespread disruptions within the 5 boroughs and throughout the tri-state including subway, buses, LIRR, Amtrak, MetroNorth, airports, and Path.
• Major Traffic Disruptions: Roadway closures and detours.
• Planned Events: Information for a preplanned activity that may cause local disruption, fireworks, routine flyovers, movie, and television filming.
• Public Health Notifications: Important health issues in your local area.
• School Notifications: Unscheduled public school delays, early dismissals, and closings.
• Significant Event Notifications: Important information about emergency events, like outages,
• Weather Emergencies: Information about forecasted events.
• Beach Advisories: NYC Department of Health and NYC Parks Department announcements.
• Waterbody Advisories:  Messages about Combined Sewer Overflow(CSO) activity in New York City’s waterbodies you are interested in.

Whew! That’s a lot of info in one place. And the program covers all forms of communication. Notify NYC sends communications through emails, text messages, tweets (follow @NotifyNYC), phone calls, video, and using the app. It is also able to activate the Emergency Alert System and the Wireless Emergency Alert system. It makes the alerts fully accessible to all of the city’s residents.

How Can I Get It?

Signing up for free alerts is simple. You can get the app for Android and iPhone. You can also visit www.nyc.gov/notifynyc or call 311. If Twitter is your thing then you can follow @NotifyNYC. You can sign up for Notify NYC even if you don’t live or work in New York City. You will just need a valid street address within the city, like your work or in the case of a tourist a hotel.

See, it’s totally painless but so worth having. Keeping you and your loved ones safe and healthy is always a priority. Do you have the Notify NYC app yet? What are you waiting for? Let’s chat about how it would help you in the comments below?

Until our next rendezvous…

XOXO

Trudy

 This post was sponsored by Notify NYC. All opinions are my own.