311
New York City has one of the coolest things for finding information. It’s not 911 and it’s not 411, it’s 311, the city’s information service. You can dial them up to report noise in your neighborhood, find out which city agency deals with water pressure complaints, ask where the nearest park is, or any number of other questions.
Read at Wired
Many cities, including Austin, TX, have such a service. It is the "non-emergency" city information line. I called it once to report a stray kitten and they sent the ASPCA to pick it up. I'm surprised Wired wrote about it. The line, not the kitten. That would have really surprised me.