Thousands of New Yorkers were woken up by an Amber Alert issued at 3:51 a.m. by New York State Police after a 7-month-old boy was taken from a Harlem social services center by his biological mother.
Is it a needless interruption, or a valuable life-saving tool?
Thousands of New Yorkers were awoken early Wednesday morning when their cell phones began blaring because of an amber alert notifying them of a missing child.
Accompanied by the screeching tones employed by the emergency broadcast system, a message appeared on cell phones across the five boroughs that read, “3:51 am AMBER Alert Manhattan, NY Amber Alert UPDATE: LIC/GEX1377 (NY) (1995) Tan Lexis ES300.”
New York police said that a 7-month-old boy had been snatched by his biological mother, Marina Lopez, 25, from a Harlem social service facility on Tuesday afternoon. Lopez, who police said was bipolar, was deemed a threat to the child’s well-being, and and the cell phone Amber alert was issued in New York City for just the third time in the past year.
“When a child under the age of 18 has been abducted and is in imminent danger of death or serious harm, immediacy can help save lives,” a public information officer for the New York State Police, which issued the alert, told the Daily News in an email.
By Wednesday afternoon, the boy had been located and returned unharmed to the Harlem facility where he lives, police said, leaving some residents to question whether the automatic alert was necessary.
“While I am sensitive to the importance of Amber alerts, a 4 a.m. emergency alarm, causing momentary panic and ruining a night's sleep over a domestic matter involving a child and his biological mother seems way over the top,” Brooklyn resident Sam Erickson, 46, told the Daily News. “I know that the federal government added amber alerts to the list of things that would be blasted out on the system but either that is a bad idea or they need to be more selective about which ones and when.”
Others were more sympathetic to the Wireless Emergency Alert program.
“I actually thought ‘oh wow, that’s a great tool that it sends out a text message.’ I didn’t even realize I was signed up for that so, there you go,” Jacqueline Kirwin, 24, said. “I thought it was helpful and it’s a good way to reach the masses. Everyone has their cell phone and everybody has it nearby and it’s, I think it’s a good thing.”
Brooklyn mother Rebecca Bauer, 45, agrees.
“I thought it was spam. Then I got a second. Scared the crap out of me.” Bauer said. “ I get extreme weather alerts, why not that?”
Many New Yorkers do not realize that if they purchased a cell phone after 2011, it is automatically set to receive the emergency alerts, such as those issued during Hurricane Sandy. Those, too, however, can be altered.
“Cell phone users can opt out of receiving WEA messages,” the New York State Police told the News. “ Most cell phones are now automatically enabled depending on your cell phone provider. For instructions on how to opt out of the program, customers should contact their cell phone provider.”
Is it a needless interruption, or a valuable life-saving tool?
Thousands of New Yorkers were awoken early Wednesday morning when their cell phones began blaring because of an amber alert notifying them of a missing child.
Accompanied by the screeching tones employed by the emergency broadcast system, a message appeared on cell phones across the five boroughs that read, “3:51 am AMBER Alert Manhattan, NY Amber Alert UPDATE: LIC/GEX1377 (NY) (1995) Tan Lexis ES300.”
New York police said that a 7-month-old boy had been snatched by his biological mother, Marina Lopez, 25, from a Harlem social service facility on Tuesday afternoon. Lopez, who police said was bipolar, was deemed a threat to the child’s well-being, and and the cell phone Amber alert was issued in New York City for just the third time in the past year.
“When a child under the age of 18 has been abducted and is in imminent danger of death or serious harm, immediacy can help save lives,” a public information officer for the New York State Police, which issued the alert, told the Daily News in an email.
By Wednesday afternoon, the boy had been located and returned unharmed to the Harlem facility where he lives, police said, leaving some residents to question whether the automatic alert was necessary.
“While I am sensitive to the importance of Amber alerts, a 4 a.m. emergency alarm, causing momentary panic and ruining a night's sleep over a domestic matter involving a child and his biological mother seems way over the top,” Brooklyn resident Sam Erickson, 46, told the Daily News. “I know that the federal government added amber alerts to the list of things that would be blasted out on the system but either that is a bad idea or they need to be more selective about which ones and when.”
Others were more sympathetic to the Wireless Emergency Alert program.
“I actually thought ‘oh wow, that’s a great tool that it sends out a text message.’ I didn’t even realize I was signed up for that so, there you go,” Jacqueline Kirwin, 24, said. “I thought it was helpful and it’s a good way to reach the masses. Everyone has their cell phone and everybody has it nearby and it’s, I think it’s a good thing.”
Brooklyn mother Rebecca Bauer, 45, agrees.
“I thought it was spam. Then I got a second. Scared the crap out of me.” Bauer said. “ I get extreme weather alerts, why not that?”
Many New Yorkers do not realize that if they purchased a cell phone after 2011, it is automatically set to receive the emergency alerts, such as those issued during Hurricane Sandy. Those, too, however, can be altered.
“Cell phone users can opt out of receiving WEA messages,” the New York State Police told the News. “ Most cell phones are now automatically enabled depending on your cell phone provider. For instructions on how to opt out of the program, customers should contact their cell phone provider.”
