How NYC aims to be the world’s most language-friendly city

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The announcement further builds on the work NYC has done to improve service delivery and make New York City government more inclusive and accessible

At a glance

Who: New York City; New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI); New York City Police Department (NYPD); New York City Public Schools.

What: Mayor Eric Adams has issued a directive to city agencies to evaluate how they can further incorporate language technologies into their day-to-day interactions with the public. To kick off, it plans to install language apps on all city-owned smart devices – more than 100,000 in total.

Why: NYC wants to improve communications with all New Yorkers, including non-English speaking communities, and make city services more accessible to help fulfil its aim of becoming the most language-friendly city in the world.

When: Some of the work has begun immediately.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has issued a directive to city agencies to evaluate how they can further incorporate language technologies into their day-to-day interactions with the public to improve communications with all New Yorkers, including non-English speaking communities.

As a start, the city is planning to install language apps on all city-owned smart devices – more than 100,000 in total – to make city services more accessible to New Yorkers as part of the City of New York’s push to become the most language-friendly city on the globe.

Language technology

The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) will provide support to city agencies to facilitate downloads and usage of tools like Google Translate and Apple’s built-in Translate app, while continuing to evaluate advances in technology to ensure effective, safe, and quality communications.

Additionally, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) will immediately begin using language technology to communicate with New Yorkers they interact with on a day-to-day basis, while New York City Public Schools has begun development on Hello, a new app to help bridge language gaps that will be rolled out in the spring of 2026.

“From the very start, our administration has continually expanded our use of technology to keep New Yorkers safer, stronger, and more informed, but to be a more inclusive and accessible city, we must also be the most language-friendly city on the globe”

To reach New Yorkers in the languages they speak, NYC311 already provides interpretation services in over 175 languages. Residents can text 311 at 311-692 to receive help through translation services. In 2024, these language resources were used in more than 320,000 customer interactions across 104 languages.

Additionally, MyCity, which connects New Yorkers to city services and benefits, is available in the city’s 10 most common languages.

“From the very start, our administration has continually expanded our use of technology to keep New Yorkers safer, stronger, and more informed, but to be a more inclusive and accessible city, we must also be the most language-friendly city on the globe,” said Adams. “Today, we are taking another step forward by expanding the use of language technology to improve communications with all New Yorkers, no matter what language they speak.

“Today’s announcement further builds on the work we have done to improve service delivery and make New York City government more inclusive and accessible because when we embrace technology, we are able to deliver every part of our vision more effectively – making our city safer, more affordable, and the best place to raise a family.”

In addition to OTI downloading language technology on all city-owned smart devices, the NYPD’s patrol guidelines for interaction with “Limited English Proficient Persons” has been updated to include technology, instead of just human translations.

Since 1992, NYPD officers have had access to the NYPD’s Language Line service, which provides language services by phone in more than 180 languages. In an effort to improve ease of communication with the communities they serve and utilise the latest technologies that facilitate real-time translations, NYPD officers on patrol will now also be able to use additional translation applications on their NYPD-issued smartphones. Such applications have access to dozens of additional languages.

“Today’s announcement further builds on the work we have done to improve service delivery and make New York City government more inclusive and accessible”

This winter, New York City Public Schools will begin to develop Hello, a new custom-developed app to help bridge language gaps in New York City school communities. Using speech-to-text and text-to-speech interactions, Hello will be able to give real-time translation and interpretation in the top 12 languages spoken by New York City Public Schools’ families. This app is specifically being designed securely and with privacy in mind to support families during impromptu meetings and interactions with school staff, and comes on the heels of an amendment to Chancellor Regulation A-663 earlier this summer to bring the number of covered languages from nine to 12.

In collaboration, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) and OTI are testing Google/Apple/Microsoft speech-to-speech translation apps to test efficacy and inform citywide policy. This continues MOIA’s partnership in supporting OTI’s efforts to make nyc.gov more accessible in multiple languages through 1) providing MOIA language access specialists to review machine translated content for city websites and 2) support OTI with reviewing needs and potential vendors for citywide implementation.

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