Notify NYC alert signups grew by nearly 177,000 in Mamdani’s first six months
The city's emergency management chief pointed to a year of storms, cold, flooding and heat. Most of the new subscriptions came through Nixle text alerts.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first half year in office added nearly 177,000 subscriptions to New York City’s emergency alert system. Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell tied the growth to a stretch crowded with emergencies, from snowstorms and long cold spells to flash floods and severe heat.
According to the Mayor’s Management Report, released Thursday, Sept. 17, combined subscriptions to Notify NYC and three other emergency channels reached 1.61 million in fiscal 2026, up from 1.34 million the year before. That is an increase of about 20%.
Notify NYC subscriptions by the numbers
Because Mamdani took office halfway through fiscal 2026, NYC Emergency Management broke out the figures for his first half year. When 2025 closed, the Notify-related count stood at 1,425,523. By June 30 it had climbed to 1,602,111, a net gain of 176,588, or 12.3%.
Nixle, which lets people sign up for alerts by text, drove most of that rise. Citywide Nixle subscriptions grew by 86,010, and neighborhood-level Nixle alerts added 49,215. Combined, the two text channels produced more than 75% of the net gain. The Notify NYC mobile app added 35,160. The Notify NYC website brought in only 1,371 new signups, and the city’s 311 phone line brought in 22.
The agency had already widened its Nixle program a year earlier, in fiscal 2025 under former Mayor Eric Adams, adding local alerts tied to specific neighborhoods. It has said the Nixle totals also include an existing channel that was added to the subscriber count in 2025.
January snowstorms drove the biggest jump
Farrell said Nixle appeals to people because it is simple: they sign up by text and start getting alerts right away. She also pointed to an unusually busy year. “We also have had so many emergencies this year,” Farrell said.
The biggest surge came in January, during back-to-back snowstorms and a long stretch of frigid weather. From Jan. 20 to Jan. 27, Notify-related subscriptions grew by 69,239, close to 40% of the six-month total. More than 58,000 of them came through Nixle. On Jan. 23, Mamdani posted a short video urging people to “stay in the know for the snow” and join Notify NYC. According to City Hall, the clip was viewed more than 1.7 million times across Instagram and Facebook.
New Yorkers can subscribe through Nixle text alerts, the Notify NYC app, the Notify NYC website or by calling 311.
Quick answers
How can I sign up for NYC emergency alerts?
Subscriptions come in through Nixle text alerts, the Notify NYC mobile app, the Notify NYC website and the 311 phone line.
How many Notify NYC subscriptions are there?
Notify-related subscriptions totaled 1,602,111 on June 30, up from 1,425,523 when 2025 closed. The figure counts subscriptions, not individual people.
