New Yorkers can get the latest city news in Russian

New York City authorities strongly advise all local residents subscribe to notifications Notify NYC. This is a system of free messages about what is happening in the city.

When you sign up for Notify NYC, you can choose which messages you're interested in. The city will send you emergency notifications, inform you about transportation and school disruptions, even when local beaches open. When registering, you can select up to five city districts about which you are interested in information.

You can receive text messages by phone, email, or install the Notify NYC app and set up alerts.

"We now have over 1,1 million subscribers. The app is available in 14 languages, including American Sign Language (and Russian. – Ed.). And yet more than 90% of our subscribers choose the English version,” explained New York Department of Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. - PSo we would really like to attract more people who speak other languages. This is the system we use to send out notifications about everything from accidents to weather disasters. This is the main tool we use to inform the public about what they need to know in the city".

Although the Notify NYC program has been running in the city for more than 15 years, officials are surprised that many New Yorkers are still unaware of its existence.

“I’ll now give an example to make it clear how important it is to subscribe to our alerts. We recently had a steam pipe burst in Midtown. As a result, the area became dangerous to breathe due to the release of asbestos. One of the main ways to receive information about this was notifications from Notify NYC“, the commissioner noted.

Notify NYC messages are currently available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Urdu, Yiddish, and American Sign Language.

To sign up for Notify NYC, you must download the app here.