NYC adds IDNYC enrollment sites

The free NYC municipal ID card is proving so popular that the city has extended the enrollment period and adding IDNYC enrollment sites. The FREE card offers FREE museum admission and discounts on prescription drugs and theater tickets. Plus, it’s a valid photo ID to open bank accounts, get library cards and enter NYC buildings which require a photo ID, so it’s especially useful for anybody without a NY State driver’s license.

The free card is available to any NYC resident 14 and older, regardless of immigration status. That’s a reason why there are two temporary enrollment locations in NYC areas with a large immigrant population, the Lower East Side and Queens.

Lower East Side: A temporary IDNYC enrollment site at the Henry Street Settlement/Jobs Plus center, 24 Avenue D near East 3rd Street, is open through Friday, Jan. 15. Hours are 9am to 5pm, except Tuesday, when it is open 11am to 7pm, and until noon only on the final day.

Queens: From Jan. 19 to Feb. 17, there will be a temporary IDNYC enrollment site at the  offices of the Consulate General of Ecuador in Queens, at 24-15 Queens Plaza North. Hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 5pm Thursdays from noon to 8pm, and until noon only on the final day, Wednesday, Feb. 17.

There’s also a permanent enrollment center at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, and at the Mid-Manahttan Library on Fifth Ave. and 40th Street, across the street from the main branch with the two stone lions out front.

Phone 311 for an appointment at any enrollment center, which will help cut waiting time.  It took me less than 15 minutes recently to get my card at the Mid-Manhattan Library.

Here are some of the benefits of the IDNYC card:

You can use your IDNYC card at any public library in New York. The card can be integrated with your account at the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Library Systems. For more information, including links to help you find a library branch near you, click here click here.

You can use your IDNYC Card to open a bank or credit account at more than a dozen financial institutions across New York City.  Click here to find more information about the banks that accept the IDNYC card for proof of identity when opening an account.

The IDNYC card offers you exclusive discounts on movie tickets, Broadway shows, sporting events, theme parks, and New York City landmarks and attractions.  For more information, click here.

BigAppleRx is the City of New York’s official prescription drug discount card, and you can now you get these discounts with your IDNYC card. Click here find out how.

You can enroll through the end of 2016, but don’t wait.  The sooner you get the IDNYC card, the sooner you can take advantage of the freebies and discounts to help you enjoy NYC on the cheap.