REMARKS
Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez's opening remarks on NYC's 311 Service
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5 min
Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez opens the oversight hearing on NYC's 311 Service, highlighting its significance as the city's 24/7 nonemergency helpline connecting residents to government services.
- She discusses the service's extensive language support and accessibility features.
- She notes its role in providing critical data for decision-making.
- She points out current limitations like the app's English-only interface and limited complaint categories.
- She announces consideration of bills aimed at enhancing 311's functionality.
Jennifer Gutiérrez
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Thank you.
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Good morning, everyone.
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Good morning.
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Good to see you both.
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Welcome to our oversight hearing on 311.
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I'm counsel member Jennifer Gutierrez, Chair of the Committee on Technology.
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Today, we will be discussing New York City's 311 Service.
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NYC 311 is the city's 247 nonemergency helpline connecting residents with government services and handling millions of calls, tax and online interactions yearly.
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It offers support in over a 175 languages and assists people with disabilities.
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Accessible via calls, text app, and online, it's the nation's largest 311 service ensuring the city's government serves everyone.
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Importantly, it provides critical datasets for city agencies, elected officials, and everyday New Yorkers, and this information is used to make decisions about resource allocation, city needs, and opportunities for improvement.
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For many New Yorkers, 311 is the primary direct that they have with government agencies.
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Given the importance of NYC 311 in our city's functioning, it's it's paramount that we are constantly seeking to improve it.
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Including through technological advancements.
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For example, the NYC 311 mobile app is only in English.
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Submitting complaints can be complicated and some complaint types listed in the app lacks features like attaching images, videos, or pinpointing locations accurately.
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Similarly, the system offers limited categories for logging complaints and not every type of complaint is available for submission.
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Furthermore, after progressing through several steps to file a complaint, users may ultimately encounter an inability to submit it at call.
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The committee is aware that 311 acts as a conduit to other agencies and relies on the complaint types that the responding agency allows.
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However, as the architects of one of the most important public facing systems, we must be responsive to consistent requests for updates to the system to be more user friendly and work collaboratively with the responding agencies to improve the 311 the 311 program.
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To improve the services of NYC 311, we will be considering the following bills in the technology committee today.
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Brace yourself.
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It's it's a lot of bills.
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I'm just gonna read through it.
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Internal number 131 by council member Brewer in relation to adding a 311 complaint category for noise from sirens.
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Intro number 422 by council member in relation to requiring the commissioner of do it to create a separate 3 11 category for rooftop activity complaints and to report annually regarding such complaints and to require the commissioner of buildings to report annually regarding certain rooftop spaces.
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Intro 461 by counsel member, Sandra Ng, in relation to requiring human translation of the 311 app.
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In show number 485 by council member, Julie Wan, in relation to requiring the 311 customer service center to provide assistance relating to affordable Internet programs.
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Intro number 582 by council member, Denowitz, in relation to creating a mobile application to support the efficient handling of 311 service requests by city employees.
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Incho 583 by council member, Dinowicz, in relation to requiring the 311 customer service center to provide live chat functionality.
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Incho number 5 84 by council member, Denowitz, in relation to providing an estimated wait time to 311 call center customers.
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Then following 2 by council member, Denowitz, number 588 in relation to 311 transmitting image and video data for service requests or complaints and intro 589 in relation to acquiring that 311 allow persons to request snow and ice removal on pedestrian bridges and that those reports be routed to the appropriate agency The following bill by council member Holden number 602 in relation to reports of illegal towing to 311.
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In shows 626 Council member powers in relation to the use of global positioning system coordinates for 311 complaints and service requests, num internal number 634, by public advocate Williams in relation to 311 transmitting image and video data for housing service requests or complaints.
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In show number 640 by the public advocate.
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Williams, in relation to requiring the 311 customer service center to accept requests for service and complaints using video call functionality.
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In show number 673 by council member Carmen De La Rosa in relation to adding a 311 complaint category for dog runs, intro number 820 by council member Holden in relation to the number of steps to submit servers requests or complaints on the 311 website and mobile application.
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And finally, into our number 822 by council member Holden, in relation to requiring the 311 customer service center to indicate that an agency is unable to respond to a service request or complaint and implement protocols providing proof of action.
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Some of these bills were heard last session and addressed issues that have since been handled by the NYC 311 team, However, we wanna make sure that we do not overlook the opportunities for improvement that inspired these bills and do our part to ensure the people of New York City receive proper service.
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I look forward to hearing testimony from the administration, experts and community advocates about NYC 311, and learning about current efforts to improve this crucial service as well as exploring further possibilities for increased access and enhancement.
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I'd like to thank the technology committee staff policy analyst Charles Kim Legislative counsel Irene Biopsky, as well as senior data scientists, Nicolas Motobano, and James Wu, and my chief staff Anna Besendorf and senior adviser, Anilio for their work in putting this hearing together.
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I'd also like to recognize technology committee members that are here with us.
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I believe it's counsel member Holden.
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Thank you for being here.
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And is one only.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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And I'd also like to recognize count we're also joined by council member Dela Rosa I'm gonna turn it over to council member Dela Rosa to deliver her opening remarks, followed by council member Holden.
