Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced on Monday Oct 6, 1997 that for the second consecutive year the City has been honored in a national competition for state and local government web sites. NYC.gov, the OFFICIAL New York City World Wide Web Site has been awarded a $15,000 FIRST prize in the "Best of the WEB" competition which included entries by 257 state and local governments representing 44 of the nation's 50 states. The competition, which began last April, was sponsored by both public and corporate entities including The US Conference of Mayors, The Council of State Governments, The University of California at Davis, Government Technology Magazine and State Technologies Inc. The evaluation criteria included innovative use of Web-based on-line technology to deliver government services in a user-friendly, efficient and economic fashion.

In making the announcement the Mayor said: "Whether you are a resident in need of government services, a businessperson interested in government contracts, or a tourist planning your next vacation, 'NYC.gov' provides access to information on the City. We all know that New York City is the Capital of the world--and the Internet helps to make the best City in the world even better. The use of the most modern technology not only showcases New York City to the world, it provides a critical link for New Yorkers who want to access their government."

NYC.gov, which is managed by the Office of New Media, a multi-agency effort reporting to an advisory board, resides at the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. In a highly collaborative venture, 56 City agenices, departments, boards and authorities currently participate in NYC.gov as web contents providers and "home page" designers.

NYC.gov was first launched in October 1995 and by July 1996 underwent a major redesign. Since that date, over 20 million requests for information were processed for nearly 320,000 visitors. This year's first place prize moves NYC.gov closer to its motto: "Don't stand in line; get on-line" from last year's third place finish, by providing on-line services such as complaint forms, access to agency heads, and reporting of neighborhood infrastructure repairs. Use of the Internet medium to deliver services to the City's customers is an essential part of the Mayor's Customer Service Initiative, which is being carried out by the Mayor's Office of Operations,a member of ONM. This year's second and third prize winners in the local government category are the cities of Seattle and Indianapolis who were each awarded $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.