NYC 2.0: User Friendly New York City

New York City introduced a series of technology programs to transform the ways in which New Yorkers can interact with – and expect the delivery of services from – City government.

New York City, a pioneer in using technology to improve public services, and to make City government more accessible, accountable and efficient will now utilize existing social networks, expanding language access, and consolidating data centers.

They include providing a new iPhone application for New Yorkers to report issues and send photos to 311 with specific location details using GPS technology. New Yorkers can submit select quality-of-life complaints – with an option to attach pictures – to 311 via their iPhones.

The new, free iPhone app will streamline the process by allowing New Yorkers to report complaints to 311 using a program that identifies the user, determines the specific location of the condition reported using GPS technology, and allows easy uploads of photos.

This functionality will be expanded to other mobile phones, and enhanced so that any New Yorker can check the status of previously-reported issues.

The City has also recently moved 311 into the social networking space, with ‘311NYC’ now on Twitter. More content from 311 and NYC.gov will be distributed via social networking as 311 will start to receive feedback, questions and concerns from customers via Twitter.

The City will also help to develop neighborhood “wikis” – collaborative websites whose content can be edited by users – to share ideas for how technology could be leveraged to solve everyday problems faced by New Yorkers living and working in different communities across the city.

“MyNYC.gov,” a customized version of the City’s website NYC.gov based on users’ needs and preferences. MyNYC.gov will feature an optional, customized dashboard for quick and centralized access to information relevant to the user, with contact information automatically populating forms.