Notify NYC vs DSNY Pickup
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Notify NYC
Receive official emergency alerts and information about important City services directly from New York City. This app provides location-based updates to keep you informed about emergency events.
- Official emergency communications
- Location-based alerts
- Information on emergency events
- Updates on City services
- Privacy-focused location tracking
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Notify NYC is New York City's official emergency communications program. Get the Notify NYC app to get information about emergency events and important City services, based on your location. New York City will never track or share your precise location with anyone.
DSNY Pickup
This unofficial application provides New York City residents with essential information regarding sanitation services. Access your trash and recycling pickup schedule, receive timely reminders, and find other relevant details about the Department of Sanitation's operations.
- Service schedule lookup
- Pickup reminders
- Department of Sanitation information
- Unofficial NYC service app
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Never miss trash day again. DSNY Pickup shows your trash, recycling, compost and bulk collection days for any address in New York City, reminds you when to set out your bins, and warns you when holidays or weather change the schedule. WHAT GOES OUT, AND WHEN • Your next pickup at a glance: "Tomorrow: Trash and Recycling" • The full week for every collection type • DSNY's set-out rules, so you know when bins can go to the curb • Save several addresses: home, work, or a family member's building (Pro) HOLIDAYS AND SERVICE CHANGES • See when DSNY suspends or delays collection for holidays and weather • Get alerts before holidays and when snow delays collection (Pro) • Reminders adjust automatically: on a holiday, you'll be told to keep your bins in REMINDERS • A notification the night before or the morning of each pickup • Pick the time and which collections you want to hear about (Pro) WIDGETS • Next Pickup for your Home Screen and Lock Screen • Week at a Glance, All Addresses, and a Lock Screen countdown (Pro) • A Control Center control (Pro) SIRI AND SHORTCUTS • "When is my next pickup?" • "When is recycling?" • "What goes out tonight?" • "How do I get rid of a mattress?" GET RID OF ANYTHING • Search DSNY's guide to learn how to dispose of furniture, electronics, batteries, paint and more • Find special waste, electronics and food scrap drop-off sites near you DSNY PICKUP PRO A one-time purchase, with no subscription, that adds unlimited addresses, every widget, alerts for holidays and snow delays, custom reminders, and Siri actions. Next-pickup information, the Next Pickup widget, Siri questions and holiday-aware reminders are free. Pro supports Family Sharing. Supports the largest accessibility text sizes. DSNY Pickup is an independent app and is not affiliated with the NYC Department of Sanitation. Schedules come from DSNY and service changes from NYC 311. Always check nyc.gov/dsny for official information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DSNY Pickup at 3.8 against Notify NYC's 3.3. Notify NYC's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 21 months) and ratings volume (88 vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
DSNY Pickup holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notify NYC has 88 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Notify NYC ships an update every 2 months, DSNY Pickup every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notify NYC | DSNY Pickup |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (88 ratings) | 3.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 88 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 21 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Department of Information Technology And Telecomm | thomas prezioso |
Customer experience
Notify NYC
DSNY Pickup
Bugs and requests
Notify NYC
Reported bugs
13 issues- Pop-up notifications repeat endlessly and cannot be dismissed
- Notification preferences cannot be saved
- App randomly closes when in use
- Cannot get past the Terms of Use agreement
- No accept button to press on terms of service
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- Repeatedly popping up old notifications
- Alerts keep popping up incessantly
- Parking reform pop up won’t stop popping up
- Old notifications upon opening app
- Ignores notification settings on iPhone
- Cannot navigate app when open
- Required missing person alerts cannot be deactivated
- Missing pictures in missing person alerts
Requested features
13 requests- Allow deactivation of missing person alerts
- Include pictures in missing person alerts
- Add a share button for alerts
- Allow users to choose which alerts they receive (without mandatory ones)
- More granular alert controls
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- Option to receive amber/grey alerts
- Ability to set neighborhood for localized alerts
- Dismiss All button for pop-up notifications
- Eliminate pop-ups and rely on banner notifications
- Fix inability to navigate app when open
- Update the app regularly
- Improve alert detail and specificity
- Allow users to toggle off ALL categories of alerts
DSNY Pickup
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Notify NYC
No in-app purchases
DSNY Pickup
No in-app purchases









