Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Report: 911 Response Time Has Slowed, Despite $2.3 Billion Overhaul
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 2, 2012
Modified Apr 2, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 2, 2012
Modified Apr 2, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A report prepared by an outside consulting firm on the city's revamped 911 system claims the project—which is over budget by $1 billion and is scheduled to be implemented in 2015—has actually made emergency response time slower. "The system is as inefficient and ineffective an operation as you could get," a source told the Post. "Seconds count in emergencies. People are going to die."
The Bloomberg administration has deemed the 216 page report a "draft," which has held up its release, and though a judge ordered it to be released to the public on Friday, City attorneys blocked its release in an appeal.
"The review of the system by the City and our consultants is still ongoing—we don't release incomplete materials or analysis," Mayor Bloomberg's spokesman Marc LaVorgna said via email. "We provided hundreds of pages of documents, voice recordings and completed materials. We now have three months of experience with the new system and the review will be completed shortly and released."
Besides slower emergency response time, the new 911 system has exposed infighting between the FDNY and the NYPD over the system's administration. The NYPD reportedly wants to keep control over 911 calls, as it allows for a bigger budget; this is also the rationale for its refusal to allow 311 to take some non-emergency calls.
Though it may be more efficient for City Hall to administer the 911 system, a source told the tabloid that the administration's officials "are fearful of angering Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and his team."
The Washington-based firm that conducted the report has not made a statement to the media.
Tagged
9/11
boondoggles
fdny
mayor bloomberg
nypd
Ray Kelly
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .