A tsunami of smut temporarily shut down Mayor Bill de Blasio's 'snitch hotline' as New Yorkers say what they really think about calls for people to turn on their neighbours during coronavirus lockdowns.

City Hall confirmed that the 311 text line Mr de Blasio espoused to dob in quarantine quitters was suspended on Sunday to clear a backlog of prank memes, a large number of which appear to compare the mayor to Adolf Hitler. There was also a large number of middle fingers and unsolicited images of genitalia, colloquially know as dick pics.

A day earlier, the mayor released a Twitter video urging New Yorkers to rat on people not practising social distancing measures by sending a photo to 311-692. Repeat offenders face fines up to $1000.

"We still know there's some people who need to get the message. And that means sometimes making sure the enforcement is there to educate people and make clear we've got to have social distancing," Mr de Blasio said.

"Action will ensue."

The video was negatively ratioed, with almost 25,000 comments compared to only 3,400 likes. Critics shared their creative responses to the "tyrannical overreach" across Twitter.

In addition to the penis photos texted to 311, an NYPD source told The New York Post a caller saw something and said something with the tip that Mr de Blasio was seen performing oral sex on someone in an alleyway behind a 7-Eleven.

"He looked at me...and coofed in my direction," the caller said, referring to the slang for coughing while infected with the coronavirus.

"The city has begun vetting everything before dispersing the information to precincts," the NYPD source said.

Mr de Blasio has been criticised for breaking the city's own social distancing guidelines by running and strolling in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, 12 miles from Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the mayor.

"This is just something that we shouldn't focus on. There's much better things to talk about," the mayor said on NY1's "Inside City Hall".

"My situation is particular and I am here serving people ... and I'm just doing something I think will help me to be the most effective."

The former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, joined the chorus of criticism of the plan to turn people against each other during a time of crisis.

"Urging citizens to film non-compliant individuals reminds me of one of the tactics utilized in the country where he spent his honeymoon, Cuba," Mr Giuliani said.