City Tests E-Mail, Text Message Alerts

The city is launching a pilot email, text message, and reverse 911 program in Lower Manhattan, the northeast Bronx, the Rockaways, and southwest Staten Island to alert residents about emergencies and advise them about incoming coastal storms or power outages. New Yorkers can register for the service at www.nyc.gov, and alerts will start going out on Monday.

During his 2005 reelection campaign, Mayor Bloomberg promised to work with cell phone carriers to provide emergency notifications and information through text messaging. The push for the emergency notification system grew after a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building in August. Lower Manhattan residents said they would have felt safer after the fire if they had received information about what to do from the city.