SeeClickFix returns to Albany with updated policy

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A controversial digital platform has returned to Albany after it was temporarily disabled by Mayor Kathy Sheehan. The app and website, SeeClickFix aims to help residents report problems that they see and get them fixed quickly. Now it has returned with a slight change.

Whether its a pothole in the road, trash build-up on the side of the street or even a fallen tree, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said residents want fast responses from the city.

"We wanted our residents to have the ability to report in real-time an issue that they see," said Sheehan.

That ability, granted with the SeeClickFix digital platform. Mayor Sheehan announced the return on this app on Monday after it was temporarily disabled because of a lawsuit.

“We disabled it after we received a court decision that determined that somebody sending a notification on the app would constitute written prior notice for which liability, money damages could attach," said Sheehan.

The city was recently sued by a motorcyclist who claimed city officials knew about a dangerous pothole through SeeClickFix, but chose not to fix it. Mayor Sheehan disagreed with the court, arguing that the app did not count as "prior written notice."

“We want to ensure that people have the tool SeeClickFix, but we felt very strongly that that really isn't prior written notice for purposes of breaking away from our immunity there because again its not monitored 24/7, not monitored on weekends," said Sheehan.

Now, residents have to take one extra step by also writing a letter to tell the city about the problem.

"What that require, is that we received prior written notice in the form of an actual letter," said Sheehan. "To get that written notice so that we have the ability to assess the emergency situation and address it."

According to the app, the city has fixed over 100,000 issues to date. However, there are dozens more that still need attention. The issues are public to view, and are marked using colors. Orange means the case still needs attention and is open, green means acknowledged, and blue means closed.

Sheehan said the app should not be used or emergency situations. Instead, residents should call city dispatch to report any emergent issues. The city aims to answer the requests on this platform in 24 hours. Anyone interested in submitting their own complaint, can download the app, or visit the website.