IDNYC, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Department of Consumer Affairs, New York City Housing Authority, the Red Hook Community Justice Center, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, and Amalgamated Bank Announce New IDNYC Pop-Up Enrollment Center in Red Hook, Brooklyn

The event is part of ongoing efforts to inform New Yorkers about IDNYC’s banking benefits

PHOTO OP – On Thursday, September 15 at 10:00 a.m., IDNYC, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), the Red Hook Community Justice Center, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, and Amalgamated Bank will join to celebrate the opening of a new IDNYC pop-up enrollment center at the Red Hook Community Justice Center at 88 Visitation Place in Brooklyn, New York. The pop-up center opened September 12 and will operate until September 23, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and on Tuesday from 12:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

This event is the third in the City’s efforts to partner with financial institutions to host pop-up IDNYC enrollment sites and encourage unbanked New Yorkers to use their IDNYC to open a bank account. IDNYC is accepted as the primary form of identification to open an account at 12 banks and credit unions with more than 70 branches across the city. During the press conference, speakers will discuss how cardholders can utilize banking benefits with their IDNYC cards, and the speakers will encourage cardholders to open a safe and affordable checking or savings account at one of IDNYC’s participating financial institutions. Additional 2016 benefits include free one-year memberships to 40 cultural institutions across the city and access to discounts on groceries, and medicine.

Mayor Bill de Blasio recently released the first comprehensive evaluation of IDNYC. This report confirms that IDNYC benefits every New York City resident, especially our most vulnerable communities. More than half of IDNYC’s 863,464 unique cardholders now use the card as their primary form of identification and over three-quarters of immigrants surveyed reported that the card increases their sense of belonging to the city. Ninety-four percent of survey respondents reported that the process of getting the card was either somewhat or very easy.

“Pop-up sites are crucial to ensuring that New Yorkers can get IDNYC in locations convenient to them,” said Commissioner Nisha Agarwal of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “Community centers like the Red Hook Community Justice Center create opportunities for New Yorkers to get a crucial form of identification in a community-based center that they trust. Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, IDNYC gives New York City residents access to an array of resources, including access to 12 banks and credit unions with branches across the city. We encourage all New Yorkers to get their free IDNYC and take advantage of its benefits today.”

“As a new cardholder, I’m exploring and loving the many benefits of IDNYC,” said Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “At DCA, we are committed to fighting inequality and expanding access to financial resources and services, which IDNYC can be a vital tool in achieving. This pop-up is another example of our continued commitment to increasing access to using IDNYC to open bank accounts.”

“Thanks to our partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, NYCHA has been making IDNYC enrollment easier for public housing residents, bringing the process directly to their communities,” said NYCHA Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye. “This new pop-up site at the Red Hook Community Justice Center will benefit both our residents and the community.”

"The Red Hook Community Justice Center prides itself in serving this community through its unique array of onsite services that address the underlying issues driving individuals into the justice system. For many community members, lack of identification is both a contributing factor and consequence of criminal justice involvement, with a disproportionate impact on some of our most vulnerable populations. It has also served as a barrier to accessing many critical services that can prevent future justice-system involvement. The IDNYC program represents hope, possibility and faith for many New Yorkers who are seeking a better life for themselves and their families. We are proud to continue our partnership with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs to bring this important resource back to the Red Hook community," said Amanda Berman, Project Director, Red Hook Community Justice Center.

"My community in Red Hook welcomes this IDNYC pop-up site with open arms! With this pop-up site, Red Hook residents will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the several services and benefits that IDNYC has to offer, among them - banking services at reputable financial institutions, access to a wealth of cultural institutions and much more," said Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Chair of Immigration Committee.

"As New York's first and largest bank to accept IDNYC, we are proud to support the Mayor¹s efforts to expand its use. Every hard working New Yorker, not just the wealthy, deserves the right to a safe and secure financial future, and affordable accessible banking is key to that. According to a recent report, roughly 825,000 New York adults lack a checking account. Many more are under-banked. We need every bank, big and small, to do a better job of working to protect paychecks and providing greater access for all New Yorkers," said Maura Keaney, First Vice President of Amalgamated Bank.

Today, all local residents can set up their appointment to apply for their IDNYC card by calling 311 in the language that they speak or online at nyc.gov/idnyc.