New Castle to Upgrade Code Red Service; Residents Urged to Register
By Janine Bowen
The New Castle Town Board announced last week that the town will be upgrading its Code Red alert system in the coming weeks.
One of the major revisions is the ability for residents to customize the way they receive alerts from the town. Since its introduction last winter, residents could only sign up to receive all alerts through email or text. Residents will now have the option to receive specific alerts by email only and specific alerts by text only.
“By having this upgrade, it’s going to allow us to tailor the type of notifications they want and how they want to receive it,” said Supervisor Robert Greenstein.
In addition to allowing residents to customize alerts, officials also plan to use the system to keep residents informed of town board happenings. The board hopes to distribute an e-newsletter for residents through the system, as well as offering them the option to receive meeting agendas and minutes.
Following the changes, the town plans to implement a campaign to encourage local residents to sign up. Greenstein explained that officials hope to make the public aware of the upgraded system through a variety of media, including social media and public outreach in local churches and senior centers.
“The problem that the town has is that, unlike the schools, where residents are more than happy to give their personal information … they’re not as willing sometimes to give the information to the town, or they’re not aware that [this system] even exists,” he said.
“I think an ongoing campaign is a great idea and just getting the word out will certainly help because the more information people have, the better off they are,” added Councilman Jason Chapin.
Currently, there are 3,000 email addresses registered to receive alerts from the New Castle Code Red system, although there is no data showing how many households that represents. The goal is to increase that number before another major storm hits the area.
“We have to get people to sign up in advance so that when we have the next Sandy, or hopefully something not as bad, we will be prepared,” said Greenstein.
In addition to encouraging residents to sign up, the board also emphasized that Code Red is different from Nixle, the police alert system. While that will still be utilized, Code Red often provides more town-specific information. For example, in the event of a water main break, Code Red can be used to send alerts to the households that are directly affected.
Last year, the town signed up for Code Red following communications problems following Superstorm Sandy.
After the upgrades are in place, a test call will go out to all local residents who are signed up. The board encouraged those residents to provide feedback to help improve the system. To receive Code Red alerts, register at www.newcastlecodered.org or visit the town’s website at www.mynewcastle.org.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.