IDNYC reopens fi rst offi ces for in-person enrollment
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The city is reopening fi ve IDNYC
offi ces this month, including locations
in Lower Manhattan and near
Union Square, after they were closed for
more than a year due to the pandemic, allowing
New Yorkers to apply for a municipal
identifi cation card in-person, regardless
of immigration status, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced Tuesday.
As the mayor said during his July 13
briefi ng, “1.4 million New Yorkers have
an IDNYC and for so many of them it has
unlocked incredible opportunities they
would not have had without having an ID
card. … Simple, powerful things like being
able to get a bank account, or sign a lease,
or visit your child’s school.”
The city opened four IDNYC centers
last week, three in Manhattan and one on
Staten Island, and opened another one in
Manhattan this week, according to Jose
Bayona, a spokesperson for the mayor’s
offi ce.
City Hall plans to open an additional
eight enrollment offi ces some time in
the near future, bringing the total to 13,
according to de Blasio.
Mayor Bill de Blasio shows off an IDNYC card during the program’s launch in
2015.
The IDs will become crucial for allowing
New Yorkers, especially undocumented
residents, apply for COVID-19 state assistance
programs as the city recovers from
the pandemic, according to offi cials.
“This is especially important in our recovery
as we’re looking at state efforts, such
as the New York State Emergency Rental
Assistance Program and the New York
Excluded Workers Fund,” said Mayor’s
Offi ce of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner
NYC MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY UNIT
Raquel Batista.
The card makes it easier for holders
— especially those without legal immigration
status — to register for government
services, gain access to public buildings
like schools, and provide identifi cation to
NYPD.
There are also a host of benefi ts that
come with an IDNYC card, such as free
one-year memberships for a selection of city
cultural institutions and discounts on Citi
Bike annual passes and Parks Department
recreation center memberships.
People can make appointments online
at nyc.gov/IDNYC or by calling 311 and
saying “IDNYC.”
Here are some of the offi ces that opened
in July:
IDNYC Centre Street Office
100 Centre St., 14th Fl.
New York, NY 10013
Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. every day
for lunch
Manhattan CBIC
109 East 16th St., 1st Fl.
New York, NY 10003
Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. every day
for lunch
Manhattan Business
Center – DOF
66 John Street. 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
Mon-Fri: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. every day
for lunch
New York Public Library giving away book
kits to keep kids active all summer long
BY DEAN MOSES
School may be out, but the learning
never stops at the New York Public
Library.
New York Public Libraries (NYPL) are
back and distributing free book kits that
are sure to provide fun-fi lled activities for
the sweltering months to come.
The New York Public Library reopened
all of its locations this month and the institution
is returning bearing gifts. Over
60,000 kits brimming with books, stress
balls, Play-Doh, and more were handed out
at every NYPL in Manhattan, the Bronx,
and Staten Island. Each of the six bags
were designed especially for various age
groups ranging from infants to older teens
(0-17).
The giveaway was intended to inspire
children while also keeping them engaged
with reading materials over the summer
months. Following the diffi culties of the
COVID-19 pandemic, NYPL offi cials feel
it is important to offer children and teens
materials that can both help them destress
while also keeping their reading habits up.
“The library has always played a critical
role in the lives of New York City families
There were six different kits for children ages 0-17.
over the summer, and this year, it feels even
more important, as students went through
unprecedented change and challenges,”
said Emily Nichols, NYPL’s Associate Director
of Children’s Services. “We need to
make sure we’re using our expertise to support
them, including and especially families
on the wrong side of the digital divide, who
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
can’t access e-books or web-based learning
programs. To give them books and activities
to take home is so important, and we
hope to see as many families as possible in
our branches.”
Families at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Library were excited to receive the
gifts and instantly dug into the bags to
discover the litany of literacy treats waiting
within. Huddling together children and
parents alike poured over the pages and
pointed at the artwork.
“As a teacher and a parent, I think it is
so important to get books into the hands of
kids. It’s amazing that they received funding
to give all of these kits to all of the
families that they can to try to spread the
love of literature,” Beth Emmons, a teacher
from Michigan, told amNewYork Metro
as her two young girls fl ipped through the
pages of their books.
Emmons has been traveling with her
husband and daughters all across the
United States in a trailer, and upon arriving
in each city they make a point to visit the
local libraries.
“Every city we’ve gone to, we stop at the
library,” Emmons said, adding that they
have visited 14 states so far. “We are from
a really small town, but it’s really interesting
because all of the summer reading
programs are really similar because they
are all national and so it’s just really nice
to visit a library and we feel at home no
matter where we are.”
The giveaway took place at 92 different
locations will continue while supplies last.
Schneps Media July 15, 2021 3
/IDNYC
