Quick reference: phone numbers, websites and glossary — New to Brooklyn

Keep this page handy for the first few weeks. It collects the main phone numbers and websites a new Brooklynite uses, a quick guide to which number to call for common problems, and a glossary of everyday terms you will hear in conversation, on signs and in leases.²³²

Essential contacts

Phone numbers and websites^{206,214,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242}

Who	Phone	Website	Use it for
Emergency services	911		Fire, police or medical emergencies. Text 911 only if you cannot call (English and Spanish only)
NYC311	311 (inside NYC) or 212-639-9675 from outside the city; text 311-692	portal.311.nyc.gov	Non-emergency city services, complaints and information, 24/7
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline	988 (call, text or chat)	988lifeline.org	Free, confidential support for mental health crises, 24/7
NYC Emergency Management	No voice line listed; text NotifyNYC to 692-692 for alerts	nyc.gov/site/em	Emergency alerts via Notify NYC and weather updates
Con Edison	1-800-752-6633 (1-800-75-CONED)	coned.com	Report power outages, downed wires and gas emergencies
MTA	511 (say "MTA"); OMNY payment questions 877-789-6669	mta.info	Subway, bus and commuter rail information and fare questions
Brooklyn Borough Hall (Borough President)	718-802-3700 (209 Joralemon Street)	brooklynbp.nyc.gov	Borough-level government, community boards
Brooklyn Public Library	718-968-7275	bklynlibrary.org	Library cards, branches and programmes
Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)	Call 311	nyc.gov/site/hpd	Heat, hot water and housing maintenance complaints
Department of Buildings (DOB)	Call 311	nyc.gov/site/buildings	Construction and building-use complaints
Sanitation (DSNY)	Call 311	nyc.gov/site/dsny	Collection schedules, missed pickups, recycling and composting
New York State DMV	518-486-9786 or 1-800-698-2931 (weekdays 8 AM to 4 PM)	dmv.ny.gov	Licences, registrations and general DMV questions; representatives cannot process transactions

Verified on official pages on October 9, 2026. Numbers and websites can change; confirm on the official page before relying on them.

NYC311 can connect you with an interpreter in more than 175 languages, and its website can be translated into more than 100. Texting 311-692 and online filing are alternatives if you cannot talk. If you call from a VoIP line or from outside the five boroughs, use 212-639-9675. Ask for a service request number whenever you report something, since it lets you check status online.²⁰⁶

Commuters on a Brooklyn subway platform — Suggested photo: A Brooklyn subway platform with riders waiting and an OMNY fare reader in view

Which number do I call?

Quick guide by situation^{225,232,233,234,235,236,237,239,240,241}

Situation	Start here
Fire, crime in progress, or medical emergency	911
You smell gas	Leave the area, then call 911 or Con Edison at 1-800-752-6633
Downed wire or power outage	Con Edison at 1-800-752-6633; for a downed wire, also report to police and stay away
No heat or hot water	Tell your landlord first; if there is no response, call 311 (heat season runs October 1 to May 31)
Noise complaint	311
Missed garbage, recycling or compost pickup	311, from 8 AM the day after your pickup day
Unsafe construction or illegal building use	311 (passed to the Department of Buildings)
Alternate Side Parking questions	311 or nyc.gov/asp
Subway or bus service information	511 or mta.info
Emotional crisis or thoughts of suicide	988
Severe weather and emergency alerts	Text NotifyNYC to 692-692 or sign up at nyc.gov/NotifyNYC

Based on official agency pages checked October 9, 2026. In a life-threatening emergency, always call 911 first.

Reporting a problem well

When you contact 311 or a landlord, give the full address and unit, describe what is wrong and since when, and note any photos you have. Write down the service request number and the date. For housing issues such as heat, tell your landlord first and keep a record of the message, because the city's heat guidance says contacting the landlord is usually the fastest fix. You can also file anonymously, in which case an inspector chooses an apartment in the building to check.^206,239

Addresses can be confusing at first. Brooklyn is one of five boroughs; your ZIP code is only a postal area; and the neighbourhood name you use may differ from the one on a listing. Your community board and council district are set by where you live, not by the name people use for the area, so use the city's address lookup tools when you need an official answer.^204,205

Transit payment basics

Fares are now paid mainly by tapping a contactless card, phone or an OMNY card at the turnstile or bus reader. MetroCards could no longer be bought or reloaded after December 31, 2025, though cards you already hold have continued to work for some time with no final end date announced at that point. Check mta.info for the current position before relying on an old card.^237,243

Glossary of everyday terms

Words newcomers meet^{205,206,207,208,213,225,234,239,241,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252}

Term	Plain-English meaning
311	The city's non-emergency information and complaints line, available by phone, text and online.
Alternate Side Parking (ASP)	Street-cleaning rules that ban parking on one side of a street at posted times; suspended on some holidays and in bad weather.
Block association	A group of neighbours who organise around their street's concerns and events.
Bodega	A small neighbourhood grocery store, often open late.
Borough	One of New York City's five divisions: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.
Brownstone	A house or row house faced with reddish-brown stone; also used loosely for similar historic row houses.
Community Board	A local advisory body for a community district; Brooklyn has 18.
Co-op	Housing in which a cooperative corporation owns the building, and residents typically hold shares tied to their unit.
Condo	A unit that you own individually within a larger building or complex.
Culture Pass	A Brooklyn Public Library programme that lets cardholders reserve free admission to participating museums and attractions.
Deli	A small shop selling sandwiches, prepared food and groceries; people sometimes use the word for a bodega.
DSNY	The Department of Sanitation, which handles collection, recycling and street cleaning.
Express vs local	Local trains stop at every station on a line; express trains skip some stops, so check the sign or announcement.
FARE Act	A city law, in effect since June 11, 2025, that stops tenants being charged the fee of the broker hired by the landlord.
Greenmarket	A farmers market run by GrowNYC.
Heat season	October 1 to May 31, when landlords must provide heat to set minimum temperatures.
MetroCard / OMNY	The older swipe card and the newer tap-to-pay system used on the subway and buses.
Notify NYC	The city's free emergency alert service.
Railroad apartment	A narrow apartment where rooms open one into the next, in a row, without a central hallway.
Rent-stabilized	A type of regulated apartment, mainly in older buildings with six or more units, with extra tenant protections.
Stoop	The front steps or small porch of a house or apartment building, often a social spot.
Super	The building superintendent, who handles repairs and day-to-day upkeep.
Walk-up	A building of several floors without an elevator.
"The City"	In everyday talk, many people in the other boroughs use it to mean Manhattan; officially it means all of New York City.
ZIP code vs neighbourhood	ZIP codes are postal delivery areas; neighbourhood names are informal and often cross ZIP and community-board lines.

Definitions are simplified. The Co-op, Condo and Rent-stabilized entries are general descriptions, not legal advice; check lease or sale documents.

If a term in a lease or listing is unclear, ask the landlord or agent to explain it in writing, and check official sources such as the Housing and Community Renewal rent-history service for rent stabilization status.²⁵⁰

Checklist: save these today

Add 911, 311, 988, Con Edison and your landlord or super to your phone contacts.
Sign up for Notify NYC alerts.
Bookmark the DSNY collection schedule lookup and nyc.gov/asp.
Find your community board and note its meeting time.
Set up OMNY payment on your phone or card.
Get your Brooklyn Public Library card.