City officials announced Wednesday that New York City's 911 emergency call system is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover to enhance public safety.
They say it’s called “Next Generation 911” or “NG911” for short.
The new system will help speed up response times and allow critical information between 911, the NYPD and the FDNY to be routed quicker among agencies. Also, the information coming in is expected to cut down on the amount of time it takes to internally handle a call.
NG911 will give people and emergency workers the ability to send and share texts, photographs and videos to the city's 911 system, which will help first responders deal with an emergency before they arrive to a scene.
The city's 911 call centers operate out of the Bronx and Brooklyn, and combined they receive about 9 million calls a year.