City Lawmakers: 911 Should Accept Text Messages

Some city council members are pushing for a modernization the city's 911 call system that would allow it to accept text messages, videos, and photographs — in addition to traditional voice calls — in emergencies.

Manhattan Councilman Mark Levine is sponsoring a bill calling on the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to come up with a plan, cost estimates and a timeline for how to upgrade the system.

He said it'll be a complicated and costly, but essential, task.

"This is a big city with a big 911 call system," he said. "This is not a trivial undertaking."

Levine and the bill's other sponsors introduced the bill to the council on Thursday.

Supporters say the system could be used in emergency situations where people in trouble are unable to make a voice call for help, but may be able to transmit the details via text instead. "Once the technology is in place, we actually believe this can simplify the life of dispatchers and the system as a whole," Levine said.