4 Riverdale-area 911 calls affected by Bronx outage, officials seek answers

Four 911 calls in the Riverdale area were impacted by a seven-hour outage at the city’s Bronx public safety answering center, according to a spokesperson for the city’s office of technology and innovation. All four were ultimately “serviced,” the office told The Press, but a month after the breakdown, local officials say they are still seeking answers about what happened and what the city can do to prevent another incident.

The Aug. 18 outage, which began after a software update at Public Safety Answering Center II, located at 350 Marconi St., in Morris Park, impacted nearly 1,700 calls in total. This was revealed at a Sept. 9 city council hearing lasting more than three hours, at which office of technology and innovation commissioner Lisa Gelobter said her office is conducting a “root cause analysis” on the incident. The hearing also raised questions about the city’s lack of public notification until the outage had ended and the incident had already been reported by news organizations.

An office of technology and innovation spokesperson told The Press the investigation into the incident is still underway, and the office is revisiting its protocols and policies. All services have since been restored, according to the spokesperson.

“We have a singular, shared mission — to ensure expeditious, seamless and uninterrupted emergency systems operations for New Yorkers,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Press about the office’s collaboration with fellow agencies. “Any disruption to emergency communication services is of supreme concern. It is why an operational bridge for interagency coordination between Motorola and the city agencies — including OTI, NYPD and FDNY was opened.”

Motorola, the vendor providing technology services for the city’s 911 system, performed the update in question. Officials said at the hearing that the update was routine, and one of many similar ones that take place over the course of the year. Motorola did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the vendor have a presence at the city council hearing.

Gelobter and representatives of the city’s fire and police departments shared at the hearing that the outage began in the early hours of the morning. A 911 operator alerted their supervisor when alarm companies using the system were not able to reach the call center, she said. Eventually, it became apparent that people making 911 calls were not successfully getting through to the center either. The Bronx answering center is one of two in the city.

The outage was not the first this year, the hearing revealed. In May, a text-to-911 glitch rendered the service unavailable for about two hours. Texters received a bounce-back message during this time telling them to call 911, Gelobter said. The outage impacted 12 texters, according to officials.

This alarmed city council members at the hearing due to its implications for those potentially in crisis while the incidents were underway, and for the functioning of the 911 system overall. According to the office of technology and innovation, New York City’s 911 call system receives over 9 million calls per year.

Captain Amadeo Oktrova of the New York City Police Department’s 50th Precinct — comprising Riverdale, Fieldston, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill and Spuyten Duyvil — told The Press as of Sept. 15 he had not received any complaints or feedback regarding the outage, and was uncertain of its impact in the area. The office of technology and innovation later shared with The Press that four calls were impacted in the area of the precinct, but were serviced.

Police officials said at the hearing that more than 500 failed calls were returned by the department within the first 24 hours following the outage. Of those calls, they said they made contact with 32 individuals, none of whom required additional service once they were contacted.

The city’s office of emergency management said in a statement to The Press regarding the incident that, in the face of impacts to the city’s essential services, they maintain “established processes” through their 24/7 watch command. The watch command is in charge of monitoring and communicating emergency incidents impacting the city.

“While the technical oversight of the 911 system rests with its operating agencies, NYCEM works closely with those partners to ensure timely situational awareness, support interagency coordination and mobilize resources,” the office stated.

The fire department had no further comment following the hearing.

Council member Eric Dinowitz and a spokesperson for Council member Carmen De La Rosa, who led the hearing, said their offices became aware of the outage when many other New Yorkers did — when the news had broken in the media after the system had been down for hours. Even upon learning more about the glitch and convening with fellow city officials, many aspects of the incident remained shrouded in uncertainty for the two electeds.

“My colleagues and I, under Speaker [Julie] Menin’s leadership, will continue pushing the administration for real answers,” Dinowitz told The Press. “In the wake of two devastating fires in our district, we cannot afford to leave residents without emergency services because of a planned software update that was mishandled.”

Similarly, the spokesperson for De La Rosa’s office said the council member planned to share a follow-up letter with the office of technology and innovation, detailing questions that remained after the hearing.

Officials offered differing options for residents faced with a 911 service outage. Dinowitz suggested that, in the event of a future outage, residents keep trying 911 until their call goes through, or utilize the city’s text-to-911 service.

Oktrova said if a future outage occurs, local residents can call the precinct directly. The 50th Precinct can be reached at 718-543-5700. The spokesperson for De La Rosa’s office, like Oktrova, said residents may also call their precinct directly, but said it is difficult to offer guidance for a future outage.

An office of technology and innovation spokesperson said in the “very unlikely case” that a resident is unable to reach a 911 operator, they may text 911, call 311 or go to their local precinct.