New Lots Library now an IDNYC enrollment center

December 27, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BPL President and CEO Linda E. Johnson says IDNYC cards can be used not only as identification cards, but as library cards too. Photo by Gregg Richards

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Brooklyn residents looking to apply for identification cards in the city’s IDNYC program now have a new place where they can get it done. The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) announced that an IDNYC enrollment center has opened in the New Lots branch in East New York.

“We are thrilled New Lots Library will serve as another IDNYC registration center,” BPL President and CEO Linda E. Johnson said in a statement.

The New Lots Library, located at 665 New Lots Ave., is now a permanent IDNYC enrollment center, the second established by BPL. There is also a permanent enrollment center at the main branch of the BPL at 10 Grand Army Plaza. That center opened in 2015.

The permanent IDNYC centers are in sharp contrast to the pop-up IDNYC enrollment centers that have opened in various locations around the city and then closed within a few weeks.

The New Lots Library became part of the BPL system in 1949, seven years after it was first established as a community library by local residents.

Started under a program developed by the de Blasio administration in 2015, IDNYC cards are free identification cards that can be used by the owner as a government-issued photo identification card the same way a driver’s license or passport can be used. Anyone age 14 and above can apply for an IDNYC card, including undocumented immigrants, the homeless and other New Yorkers who might have trouble securing more traditional types of government-issued ID.

The cards can also be used as library cards in BPL, New York Public Library and Queens Public Library systems. BPL, which operates 60 neighborhood libraries in Brooklyn, is the fifth largest library system in the U.S.

“Brooklyn Public Library provides access to essential resources for everyone in the borough. Not only do IDNYC cards enable New Yorkers to access city services and buildings, they serve as library cards, which means access to our collection of more than 4 million materials and hundreds of programs every year,” Johnson stated.

BPL branches have proven to be a successful venue for residents using IDNYC cards, according library officials, who said that more than 4,300 IDNYC cards have been activated at BPL.

To entice New Yorkers to apply for the cards, the IDNYC program allows card holders to benefit from free one-year memberships at certain museums, zoos, concert venues and other cultural institutions, as well as certain health and fitness centers.

Bitta Mostofi, acting commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, said the free memberships, which are worked out through a partnership between the city and cultural and recreational institutions, make the IDNYC program special.

“What truly makes IDNYC the key to the city are our partnerships across the five boroughs. Stronger integrations with Brooklyn Public Library, introducing our second permanent enrollment center at the New Lots Branch, and new local benefit partners like Aviator Sports and Events Center make IDNYC and NYC more accessible for Brooklynites,” Mostofi stated.

IDNYC card applicants are required to complete a form and submit the document at an enrollment center. Applicants must also present proof of identity as well as proof that they reside in New York City. Many types of documents are accepted, officials said.

For more information on the IDNYC program, call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/IDNYC.