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Average wait time (tier 1 calls) (minutes:seconds)
Provide public access to City government. — Improve the efficiency of public access to government services
NYC311's own reporting attributes the FY24 jump in Tier 1 call wait times to "an increase in more complex customer inquiries," which take agents longer to resolve, after wait times had reached a low in FY23. The subsequent increase into FY26 is attributed to staffing constraints in the call center during July and August 2025, which the agency says were resolved by the end of that reporting period.
Researched July 16, 2026 — NYC311, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, NYC311, Preliminary Fiscal 2026 Mayor's Management Report
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FY22 | 0 min 29 sec | 0 min 30 sec |
| FY23 | 0 min 17 sec | 0 min 30 sec |
| FY24 | 0 min 31 sec | 0 min 30 sec |
| FY25 | 0 min 25 sec | 0 min 30 sec |
| FY26 (YTD) | 0 min 37 sec | 0 min 30 sec |
Why this is tracked
Before NYC311 launched in March 2003 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, city government phone numbers filled roughly 4,000 entries across 11 pages of the phone book, split across more than 40 separate agency call centers and hotlines, with no single place for residents to get help or report a problem. 311 consolidated all of it into one 24/7 number (paired with 911 for emergencies), and later added an online portal in 2009. It has since become both a public access point and a management tool the City uses to track service requests and hold agencies accountable for response times.
NYC Mayor's Office - Bloomberg Commemorates Ten Years of NYC311, NYC311 - Wikipedia
Source: 311 — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The average wait time in minutes and seconds before a call is answered by a live call center representative in the Tier 1 queue - the initial assessment of basic customer needs. Time measurement begins after initial prerecorded messages.