NEW YORK — A Councilman for the City of the New York has signaled that he intends to introduce legislation requiring AM radio receivers in all city-owned and city-contracted vehicles — a signal that kHz-band broadcast stations remain essential in North America’s biggest municipality.
Frank Morano has pledged to introduce the bill next Tuesday (11/25) at a New York City Council meeting. His proposal directs the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to ensure AM reception hardware — not streaming alternatives — is installed in all new City of New York fleet vehicles. This includes emergency response units, sanitation trucks and agency cars, as well as vehicles used under City of New York contracts. The legislation also mandates annual reporting to track compliance and enforcement.
Morano, the former host of The Other Side of Midnight at Red Apple Media’s WABC-AM in New York, said the requirement supports the reliability of the Emergency Alert System, which federal agencies continue to use for real-time warnings. He noted that while federal legislation remains pending, local action can influence automaker decisions.
“When everything else fails, AM radio doesn’t,” Morano said. “On 9/11, during the 2003 blackout, and throughout Superstorm Sandy, millions of New Yorkers turned to AM radio because it was the only system still working. That’s not nostalgia – that’s infrastructure. This bill ensures that New York City continues to have access to a communication tool that has saved lives time and time again.”
Yet, Audacy opted to discontinue WCBS-AM 880 as an all-News station and alternative to hyperlocal WINS Radio, as the two major Sports Talk stations now simulcast on FM to best reach its intended audience.
Morano’s bill comes after a coalition of retired New York law enforcement leaders in February called on New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Representative Hakeem Jeffries to support the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, the federal bill that would require AM receivers in all cars sold in the U.S. An additional letter was sent to Sen. Schumer this past December, signed by senior leaders from the FDNY, NYPD, and Buffalo Police Department.
The AM Act now has 315 bipartisan cosponsors in the US House and a Senate supermajority of support as it awaits a vote.
“If cities and states across the country pass similar legislation, automakers will have no choice but to keep AM radio in vehicles,” Morano said. “This is a simple, commonsense step that protects lives, respects our emergency infrastructure, and preserves one of the few truly egalitarian mediums left in American life.”
The NAB has released PSAs in English and Spanish asking radio listeners to contact their members of Congress by texting AM to 39179, urging them to support legislation that ensures AM radio remains in cars. Get them for your station here.
