Mayor Adams Expands Public Safety Communications With 'NYC Public Safety' Account on Citizen App to Keep New Yorkers Safe and Informed

July 20, 2025

Video available at: https://youtu.be/gfEiC9x7YLk

No-Cost Initiative Allows City to Share Verified Real-Time Safety  Updates Directly to Over 3 Million New Yorkers on Citizen 

Rollout Builds on Adams Administration’s Commitment to Breakdown Communications Siloes, Make New York City Safest and Best Place to Raise a Family 

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced a new city-run account, “NYC Public Safety” on Citizen, a free app that provides users with real-time notifications about nearby emergencies and ongoing incidents. The account will compile public safety alerts and notifications from across public safety agencies to share public safety updates and incident information directly with Citizen users — including more than 3 million subscribers across the five boroughs — ensuring that critical information reaches New Yorkers when and where it matters most. New York City government has a presence in multiple languages across various social media channels, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X, and the city’s own NotifyNYC channel, among others, to meet New Yorkers where they are online and ensure information is accessible. 

“A huge part of building a safer city is ensuring New Yorkers have the information they need to keep themselves and their loved ones safe,” said Mayor Adams. “Whether it’s a heat emergency, a flood warning, a fire or crime, our new ‘NYC Public Safey’ account on Citizen will keep New Yorkers informed on threats and how their city government is working to keep them safe. Since taking office, we’ve made real progress on making our city safer and improving communications, and this new official account is yet another way we’re working to meet New Yorkers where they are by providing real time alerts to keep every New Yorker safe and informed.” 

“Millions of New Yorkers already use the Citizen app to stay informed about public safety incidents in their neighborhoods, and now the people who protect our city will be able to use this platform to send critical information directly to the people we serve,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry. “Whether it’s an alert about a major incident, a crime pattern, or a safety tip that could help someone avoid being scammed, we’re putting that information right into New Yorkers’ hands. That’s what this administration is all about: meeting people where they are, keeping them informed, and using technology to protect our communities.” 

“Easily accessible and digestible information and clear, accurate communication are critical to keeping New Yorkers safe, especially during emergencies,” said Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy. “Today’s announcement builds on the work our administration has already done to utilize technology and expand our channels of communication as we break down siloes to make our city safer for the 8.5 million New Yorkers we serve and who call this city home every day. By expanding our outreach and establishing the ‘NYC Public Safety’ account on Citizen, we will more immediately share more information with more New Yorkers about the emergencies and public safety issues they care most about, keeping people across the five boroughs informed and safe.”  

The NYC Public Safety account will publish public safety-related announcements, alerts about major incidents or weather emergencies, safety tips about crime patterns and scams, and updates to high-profile incidents. The city will also be able to send geo-targeted push notifications to users citywide based on neighborhood, zip code, or borough. This initiative has been launched at no cost to the city.  

Additionally, designated public safety agencies — including the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Fire Department of the City of New York, and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) — will be granted secure access to a dashboard that allows authorized personnel to view and download user-submitted videos from incident scenes, potentially aiding investigations and after-action reviews. NYPD and NYCEM also operate accounts on Citizen to share alerts with New Yorkers. 

Today’s announcement adds another layer to the city’s public safety communication strategies, helping to reach even more residents with timely, verified information from official sources. Over 1.2 million New Yorkers are enrolled in NotifyNYC, the city’s official emergency notification system. Subscribers can opt in to receive updates through text, email, social media, RSS feed, or the Notify NYC mobile app. It is available in 14 languages, including American Sign Language. In April 2025, Mayor Adams announced that New Yorkers could enroll in Notify NYC by texting “NOTIFYNYC” to 692-692 in addition to the previous methods of signing up on the NotifyNYC website, by calling 311, or by downloading the free NotifyNYC app. 

This initiative is the latest way the Adams administration is leveraging emerging technologies to serve as force multipliers for first responders, increase efficiency, and keep New Yorkers safe. In May, Mayor Adams announced that the city is investing $1.6 million to equip bodegas with emergency buttons to combat retail theft and protect staff and customers. In March, he expanded the New York City Department of Transportation’s automated enforcement efforts to keep streets safe. And, last year, he launched a program allowing businesses to voluntarily share security camera footage with the NYPD to aid in criminal investigations. New York City has also led the nation in utilizing drone technology to keep residents safe, including by creating the “Drone as First Responder” program to enhance the NYPD’s emergency-response capabilities, as well as to use drones to combat subway surfing, increase situational awareness for first responders, inspect infrastructure, assist with search and rescue operations, deliver flotation devices to distressed swimmers and monitor for sharks at beaches, and broadcast flood warnings in low-lying communities. 

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