The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and Carver Federal Savings Bank (Carver) launched on July 21, an IDNYC pop-up enrollment center at the bank’s 125th Street branch, giving Harlem residents easy access to IDNYC and its banking benefits.
IDNYC is a free form of identification available to all New York City residents 14-years of age and older, and is broadly accepted to access many services and benefits across the five boroughs of New York City. Under Mayor Bill de Blasio and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s leadership, IDNYC has grown to be the largest municipal ID program in the nation. IDNYC represents the inclusiveness of New York. It is a form of ID that is accessible to those who may not have other forms of identification—whether that individual is a senior, an immigrant, or a teenager.
IDNYC is accepted as the primary form of identification at 12 financial institutions that serve New Yorkers, including Carver. According to DCA research, 20 percent of households in Central Harlem are “unbanked,” meaning that they do not have a relationship with a banking institution. IDNYC provides the unbanked with easy access to a checking or savings account that can help to create financial stability and security.
IDNYC’s additional benefits include discounts on groceries and medicine, as well as free one-year memberships to 40 cultural institutions across New York City including the American Museum of Natural History.
To learn more about the program or to set up an enrollment appointment, New Yorkers can call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/idnyc. Both 311 and IDNYC’s website have free interpretation and translation capabilities. IDNYC will not ask applicants for information about their immigration status.
DCA’s newly-appointed Commissioner Lorelei Salas and Carver’s President and CEO Michael T. Pugh enrolled for their IDNYC after the press conference, encouraging all New Yorkers to enroll for an IDNYC card and to take advantage of its benefits including access to mainstream banking.
Hours for pop-up: 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m
