nyc-311-mcp

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for the NYC 311 Public API — the city-services calendar, emergency and weather status alerts, and 311 service-request lookup.

NYC 311 is the city's central hub for non-emergency city services. This server exposes the public 311 API so an AI assistant can answer questions like whether alternate-side parking is suspended today, whether a Code Blue cold-weather alert is in effect, or what the status of a filed service request is.

Vibe coded with Claude by BetaNYC.

What it does

Exposes 4 tools over MCP:

| Tool | Description | |---|---| | get_calendar | Alternate Side Parking, Collections (trash/recycling/compost), and Schools status for a date or range (max 90 days) | | get_status | Current city status for an emergency or weather condition (Code Blue, fire hydrants, OEM alerts, snow) | | get_service_request | Look up one 311 service request by number | | get_service_request_list | Bulk look up multiple service requests in one call |

Tools reference

get_calendar

Returns Alternate Side Parking, Collections (trash/recycling/compost), and Schools status for a single date or a date range. The range may not exceed 90 days. If no parameters are given, it defaults to today. Dates are interpreted in the America/New_York timezone — "today" means today in New York, regardless of the server's local time.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | date | string | no | today | Single date, YYYY-MM-DD — used for both ends if no range given | | from_date | string | no | — | Range start, YYYY-MM-DD | | to_date | string | no | — | Range end, YYYY-MM-DD |

get_calendar()                                       → today
get_calendar(date="2026-07-04")
get_calendar(from_date="2026-07-01", to_date="2026-07-07")

Sample response (a normal weekday):

{
  "days": [
    {
      "today_id": "20260622",
      "items": [
        { "type": "Alternate Side Parking", "status": "IN EFFECT", "details": "Alternate side parking and meters are in effect." },
        { "type": "Collections", "status": "ON SCHEDULE", "details": "Trash, recycling, and compost collections are on schedule." },
        { "type": "Schools", "status": "OPEN", "details": "Public schools are open." }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The three type values are Alternate Side Parking, Collections (trash, recycling, and compost), and Schools. On holidays each item also carries an exceptionName — for example, a Memorial Day lookup returns "status": "SUSPENDED" with "exceptionName": "Memorial Day 2026".

get_status

Returns the current city status for one emergency or weather condition.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | type | string | yes | — | One of: CodeBlue, FireHydrant, OEM, SnowOnSidewalk, SnowOnStreet |

| type value | What it reports | |---|---| | CodeBlue | Extreme-cold-weather shelter alert (Code Blue) | | FireHydrant | Fire-hydrant clearing status | | OEM | Office of Emergency Management active alerts | | SnowOnSidewalk | Snow-on-sidewalk clearing status | | SnowOnStreet | Snow-on-street clearing status |

get_status(type="CodeBlue")
get_status(type="SnowOnStreet")

get_service_request

Look up one 311 service request by its number. Returns the agency, problem type, status (Open / In Progress / Closed / Cancelled), timestamp, and address as provided by the API.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | sr_number | string | yes | — | Service request number, format 311-XXXXXXXX |

get_service_request(sr_number="311-17323508")

get_service_request_list

Bulk look up multiple service requests in a single call. Returns the same per-request data as get_service_request.

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | sr_numbers | string[] | yes | — | Array of service request numbers |

get_service_request_list(sr_numbers=["311-17323508", "311-17323514"])

Common workflows

Check today's city services before heading out

get_calendar()                       → is alternate-side parking suspended? are schools open?
get_status(type="SnowOnStreet")      → is street snow-clearing under way?

Watch for a cold-weather emergency

get_status(type="CodeBlue")          → is an extreme-cold shelter alert in effect?
get_status(type="OEM")               → any other active OEM alerts?

Plan around a holiday week

get_calendar(from_date="2026-07-01", to_date="2026-07-07")   → ASP / collection / schools across the week

Track filed complaints

get_service_request(sr_number="311-17323508")                          → one request's current status
get_service_request_list(sr_numbers=["311-17323508", "311-17323514"])  → several at once

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later
• An NYC 311 Public API subscription key (free)

API key

Yes — a free API key is required. The NYC 311 Public API requires a subscription key on every request. Get one (free) from the NYC API portal and set it as the NYC_311_API_KEY environment variable:

1. Go to api-portal.nyc.gov and register / sign in.
2. Subscribe to the NYC 311 Public Developers product (see the table below for which product to choose).
3. On your profile page, copy a subscription key. Each subscription has a primary and a secondary key — either one works; the pair exists so you can rotate keys without downtime.
4. Set it as the NYC_311_API_KEY environment variable, e.g. export NYC_311_API_KEY="your-subscription-key".

Which product to subscribe to

The portal lists three NYC 311 products. This server's tools (calendar, status, and service-request lookup) only need the public read API:

| Product | Use it if… | Approval | |---|---|---| | NYC 311 Public Developers | ✅ Recommended for this server. General-public access to the read API, with a standard rate limit. | Self-serve | | NYC 311 Public — High Demand | You need a higher rate limit than the standard tier provides. | Admin approval in some cases | | NYC 311 Developer Partner | You need to create service requests (this server does not — it only reads). | Admin approval required |

The key is sent as the Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key header on every request. The server reads it lazily — it only fails when you actually call a tool without a key set, never at startup.

Installation

Option 1 — npx (no install required)

NYC_311_API_KEY=your_key npx @betanyc/nyc-311-mcp

Option 2 — global install

npm install -g @betanyc/nyc-311-mcp
NYC_311_API_KEY=your_key nyc-311-mcp

Option 3 — build from source

git clone https://github.com/BetaNYC/nyc-311-mcp.git
cd nyc-311-mcp
npm install
npm run build
NYC_311_API_KEY=your_key npm start

Run the test suite (builds first; no API key or network needed):

npm test

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nyc-311": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@betanyc/nyc-311-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NYC_311_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add to your project's .claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nyc-311": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@betanyc/nyc-311-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NYC_311_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example usage

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

• "Is alternate-side parking suspended today?"
• "Are schools open on July 4th?"
• "Is there a Code Blue in effect right now?"
• "What's the status of service request 311-17323508?"
• "Look up these three 311 complaints for me."

Notes & limitations

• Service-request lookup is by number only. The API resolves a known SR number (311-XXXXXXXX); it does not search complaints by address, agency, or area. For citywide complaint analysis, use the 311 Service Requests dataset on NYC Open Data instead.
• Calendar range cap. get_calendar accepts a span of up to 90 days; longer ranges are rejected before the request is sent.
• Response shapes. get_calendar returns the documented days / items structure. The status and service-request endpoints are returned as the API's raw JSON — their exact field set is defined by the upstream API and is passed through unchanged.
• Rate limits are governed by your subscription tier on the NYC API portal, not by this server.

Data source

All data comes from the NYC 311 Public API, operated by the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI). Access requires a free subscription key.

This is an independent, community-built project from BetaNYC. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official product of the City of New York.

Related projects

Part of BetaNYC's family of MCP servers for NYC and NYS civic data:

• nyc-record-mcp — City Record notices: procurement, awards, public hearings
• nyc-checkbook-mcp — City spending, contracts, budget, payroll, and revenue
• nyc-council-mcp — City Council legislation, hearings, votes, and members
• nyc-charter-laws-rules — NYC Charter, Administrative Code, and Rules of the City of New York
• nys-openlegislation-mcp — New York State bills, laws, members, and committees

Contributing

Issues and pull requests welcome at github.com/BetaNYC/nyc-311-mcp.

Releases

Releases are automated. Pushing a tag vX.Y.Z that matches the version in package.json triggers .github/workflows/release.yml, which runs the tests, publishes @betanyc/nyc-311-mcp to npm (with provenance), and creates a GitHub Release with generated notes. Version history lives in CHANGELOG.md. Publishing requires the NPM_TOKEN repository secret.

Support our work

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License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 BetaNYC

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.