New Yorkers can find the Adams administration on the Citizen app officially under the new account “NYC Public Safety,” announced on July 20. Around 3 million people across the city currently subscribe to the platform, which provides real-time alerts about crime, emergencies, and other local incidents — but not everyone is happy about the collaboration.
“Millions of New Yorkers already use the Citizen app to stay informed about public safety incidents in their neighborhoods, and now the people who protect our city will be able to use this platform to send critical information directly to the people we serve,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry in a statement. “Whether it’s an alert about a major incident, a crime pattern, or a safety tip that could help someone avoid being scammed, we’re putting that information right into New Yorkers’ hands.”
Through Citizen, public safety agencies like the police department (NYPD), fire department (FDNY), and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) also receive secure access to a dashboard for user-submitted videos to aid investigations and review incidents.
The account hit the ground running with the Park Avenue mass shooting last week. Kayla Mamelak, spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, told the AmNews the Citizen account allowed the administration to put out updated information as the event was unfolding. Traditionally, such emergencies typically went over X (formerly known as Twitter) and through press releases on Instagram.
However, concerns remain about the app formerly known as Vigilante, which has long been blamed for fearmongering and racial profiling. The platform crowdsources incident reporting and allows users to share their thoughts. There is even an achievement system that offer badges to those who contribute.
“Citizen app will not make us safer,” said MPower Change Organizer Granate Kim. “The formerly named ‘Vigilante,’ Citizen app has a history of endangering Black and Brown people. In Oakland, this has meant that a small gathering in a popular park has been reported as ‘30 armed men with guns.’”
City Councilmember Justin Brannan remains a Citizen critic after penning a Buzzfeed op-ed against the platform in 2019. “Apps like Citizen transcribe unverified 911 calls. So if I called 911 and said a bunch of escaped tigers were chasing the squirrels in Central Park, that’s exactly what would come up on the app,” said Brannan by email. While the South Brooklyn official believes the app can serve as a useful tool during touch-and-go situations like a missing person, he said the platform does not always reflect reality.
“But more often than not, these subscription services contribute to a baseless sense of chaos and disorder, feeding into a hypervigilant atmosphere where perception goes beyond reality,” said Brannan. “Government has no higher duty than to keep the people it serves safe and secure, but we also don’t want people to be afraid for no reason. There’s enough fear and anxiety in the world as it is. The people behind the Citizen app don’t care about keeping you informed; they just want to keep you afraid and paying for the app.”
Mayor Eric Adams likened the partnership to public outreach over other social media platforms, except “faster and more accurate, and it gets timely information to residents.” The account will also be free for the city. The administration maintains the account is a tool for reaching residents rather than an endorsement of the Citizen platform.
Adams announced the move at a press conference at the Cypress Hills Houses in Brooklyn, where Tenant Association President James Elseviera recounted the development’s residents regularly telling him about their public safety concerns and their need for more information about nearby emergencies. “The city’s account on Citizen will give New Yorkers more peace of mind through alerts from verified agencies,” he said. “Knowledge is power and staying informed is a big part of staying safe.”
To be clear, downloading Citizen is free but a premium subscription locks away certain features like a registered sex offender search and police radio clips. Meanwhile, the NYPD recently embarked on efforts to encrypt the department’s dispatch frequencies. Citizen does not have access to encrypted NYPD channels and omits sensitive information from dispatches on the city’s remaining unencrypted frequencies.
Albert Fox Cahn, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) founder and executive director, called Citizen a “really dangerous platform that has a history of fueling misinformation about high-profile crimes.” The privacy expert pointed to bounties against innocent bystanders linked to the app and fears usage will continue promoting mistrust between neighbors even as violent crime declines.
“We’ve seen the NYPD spending millions of dollars to encrypt dispatch radio frequencies, making it harder for the public and press to track crime and policing in real time [and] giving the NYPD broad control over when reporters and public will even learn that an event has taken place and blocking external accountability,” said Cahn. “They’re moving toward these apps where they get to control the feed [and] the narrative, so I don’t think the city-run account is going to reflect reality.”
The city maintains the partnership with Citizen is not an alternative to police scanners — the NYPD claims decrypting its communications will keep officers and victims safe from listeners who the department say use police radio for nefarious purposes.
“Encrypting police radio communications is essential to protecting the safety of our officers and the privacy of victims and witnesses — and we’re not alone in taking this step,” said Mamelak over email. “The Adams administration is committed to ensuring that law-abiding New Yorkers have the information they need to stay safe, but we can’t ignore the fact that criminals are listening to our radios and using that information to commit crimes. Mandating real-time access could jeopardize officer safety and victim privacy. We need to strike the right balance.”
New Yorkers can alternatively receive verified emergency alerts by texting NOTIFYNYC to 692-692 and can reply with their ZIP code to receive localized notifications.
Citizen representatives did not respond to AmNews requests for comment.