Rozic: IDNYC is Coming to Bayside

Announces “Pop-Up” Enrollment Center at Bayside Library Co-Sponsored by the Korean American Association of Queens and Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs

Flushing, NY – Today, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D,WF-Fresh Meadows) and Korean American Association of Queens’ President Paul Yoo announced that they will be sponsoring a “pop-up” IDNYC enrollment center at the Bayside Library beginning January 11, 2016. NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Nisha Agarwal joined Rozic and Yoo for the announcement, as well as the Korean American Youth Foundation, Korean American Family Service Center, Korean Community Services, Korean American Heritage Foundation, and YWCA of Queens.

“We are happy to bring IDNYC into the Bayside community to expand outreach and make the application process more accessible,” said Rozic. “I encourage residents to apply and participate in a program that has increased access to vital city services that have made the world of a difference for many Queens residents.”

“IDNYC reflects New York’s greatest values. All New Yorkers deserve access to City resources. We are thrilled to see more New Yorkers have an opportunity to apply for IDNYC at a treasured community location, the Bayside Library,” said Commissioner Nisha Agarwal of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

“We are very grateful to Assemblywoman Nily Rozic and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs for making this event possible in a heavily populated Korean American neighborhood. We encourage as many Korean Americans as possible to take advantage of this special opportunity, as it is a key resource for our community. In the future, we hope more elected officials will work with us to open up further pop up locations to benefit Korean Americans in New York City,” said Paul Yoo, President of the Korean American Association of Queens.

The event is organized with the goal of reaching out to the underserved Asian American community in Oakland Gardens, Bayside Hills, and Bayside, and the community at large. Starting today, December 11th, interested applicants can reserve an appointment online for the Bayside Library location by visiting https://idnyc.appointment-plus.com/. Members of the IDNYC team will be on-site starting in January to enroll applicants through February 5, 2016.

To apply, applicants must have documentation that proves identity and residency in New York City. All applicants applying independently must provide photo identification and a document with their date of birth listed. Learn more about the requirements at http://www1.nyc.gov/site/idnyc/card/how-to-apply.page. In addition, the City will not ask applicants for information about their immigration status for purposes of obtaining the card in accordance with Executive Orders 34 and 41.

Since it launched in January of this year, the IDNYC municipal ID program has provided City residents with free photo identification allowing cardholders to access numerous services and programs offered by City agencies and institutions. The card serves as a valid photo ID to enter public buildings such as schools, open up accounts at certain banks and credit unions, and can also be used at any public library across the five boroughs.

“This new pop-up location for the IDNYC program will go a long way to serve the residents of Northeast Queens,” said Council Member Paul Vallone (D-Bayside). “I urge everyone to sign up and take advantage of the benefits offered with an IDNYC card.”

“As one of the organizations that advocated for the creation and better implementation of IDNYC in partnership with the Mayors’ Office of Immigrant Affairs, we are pleased to hear about the enrollment pop-up site at the Bayside Library,” said Grace Shim, Executive Director of the MinKwon Center for Community Action. “The response from our community to the IDNYC has been explosive, and this pop-up site will ensure that our community will more conveniently obtain this additional form of identification and access to great benefits.”

“Korean American Civic Empowerment (KACE), a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to voter education and mobilization, welcomes the opening of the new pop-up enrollment site at the Bayside library,” said Dongchan Kim, President of KACE. “With IDNYC, the New York City’s most vulnerable groups, such as the youth, senior citizens, and undocumented immigrants, have a means to actively participate in our society and conduct a quality day-to-day life that they deserve. Especially in the Korean American community, more people fall under these categories than we acknowledge. We believe that the opening of the pop-up site at the Bayside Library will be an invaluable asset to the Korean American residents in Bayside. Once again, we at KACE wholeheartedly welcome the opening of the new IDNYC enrollment site in Bayside, and urge the members of our community to take advantage of this program.”

Applicants in need of assistance navigating the website to book an appointment can call Rozic’s office at 718-820-0241.