Town's 311 Call Center Celebrates One Millionth Call

The Town of North Hempstead celebrated its one millionth call earlier this week.

Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said the 311 Call Center is one of his administration’s initiatives of which he is "most proud.”

The creation of the 311 Call Center in 2005 was aided by a $500,000 federal grant, according to a press release from the Town. 

The 311 Call Center “serves as the light at the end of the tunnel for residents throughout the area during disasters like Sandy,” said Kaiman.

Serving as a link between Town residents and its services, the center helps many of the Town’s senior residents to stay connected to Project Independence.  Others call to find out about upcoming events, like the Parks Department’s Summer Concert Series.

311 is also linked to TownStat, North Hempstead’s award-winning performance measurement and management system. Collecting data on what requests are being made enhances the ability of Town administrators to track how well services are being delivered.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, on hand for the event Monday at the Yes We Can Community Center in Westbury, thanked Kaiman and 311 operators for making the program a success.

“Today, I am pleased to celebrate the significant milestone of one million calls since the 311 Call Center first launched," said Schumer.

Although system failures and power outages hampered the newly-opened Westbury facility during Sandy, the center was staffed around the clock and answered more than 37,500 calls, some from as far as New Jersey.

Town call center workers relocated to Town Hall from the Yes We Can Community Center during Sandy after the power was disrupted early on during the storm.

According to the Town, over its eight-year lifespan, the 311 center has evolved into a key information gathering hub in emergency situations.  In 2006, the Town Board approved the purchase of a 311 Emergency Notification System, which was funded by a state grant obtained through Sen. Michael Balboni.

The 311 Emergency Notification System allows the Town to rapidly notify specific geographical areas by telephone by dialling every “land line” phone number associated within the defined area and play an event-specific message that includes instructions on what you need to do.  Residents are alerted in a timely fashion about critical events allowing them additional and sometimes crucial time to take action, such as evacuating in the case of imminent natural disasters.