When Michael Bloomberg became mayor, one of his priorities was to offer New Yorkers an improved level of government service, including systems and processes through which residents could easily interact with city agencies to receive information, file complaints and resolve issues. As it was, customers looking for government assistance were confronted with more than 4,000 entries on 14 pages of the NYC telephone book, and more than 40 resource-intensive call centers were required to direct inquiries to the right city offices.
The Mayor’s vision was that of a high-performance, centralized, all-purpose call facility, accessible through the simple-to-remember 311 phone number that would be answered by a live operator who would quickly direct callers to the information or resources they needed, anytime of the day or night. This single, integrated communication channel would manage all of the city’s non-emergency service and information requests.