“Are you here for ID?” asked the woman sporting a giant badge emblazoned with “IDNYC.”
Wearing a dark pantsuit and with long, tight braids, she asked the question countless times while I sat waiting in the city’s Manhattan Business Center on John Street, where New Yorkers usually come to pay parking tickets. It’s one of 17 locations where New Yorkers can apply for the new municipal ID cards . As of Wednesday, New Yorkers can call 311 or visit the IDNYC website to make an appointment to apply for the free card. The new system was announced due to the sheer number of applications in the first two days. By the end of Monday, city officials said they expected to process about 1,000 applications. Workers at the site saw even more people on Tuesday. They had already processed 2,000 in a soft launch last week. But on the first official day, I arrived at 1:48 p.m and given number I-9054. I was offered a form, but came prepared with a filled-out copy, my U.S. passport, Texas driver’s license and last year’s tax return. Despite being a documented American citizen since I turned 16, and holding a valid drivers license, I’ve never applied for anything identifying myself as a New Yorker. This card would change that. John Siddall, 28, said he was getting his card in solidarity with undocumented immigrants, who can use the ID if stopped by police. His ticket read I-9059.
Siddall told me he spent five hours waiting for his New York State driver’s license, but still thought his two-hour wait time was pretty “miserable” between peeks into his paperback book. Most of our 30 or so fellow applicants sat in plastic blue seats clutching passports from their home countries, along with any documentation that verified their residency — utility bills, pay stubs, tax returns — the record of lives lived in the hopes of emerging from the shadows. The room was quiet, except for the PA system announcing new ticket numbers. Eventually, the coordinator began shouting out numbers herself, intermittently asking anyone within earshot if they had any questions. She also warned a handful of handful of people that their documents might not be enough to qualify for a card, which is free for the first year and is valid for five years.
Still, registrars let some people apply with papers that may still be rejected by the city’s Human Resources Administration.
Once my number came up, the coordinator looked over my documents.
She cautioned me that the tax return address not matching my current address might be a problem. Even so, she said, I was probably okay. Those of us who are approved will get our new ID in about two weeks. By 2:30 p.m., the site coordinator said no more applications would be accepted for the day, and that the office would close in less than two hours.
“Everyone sitting here will be seen today,” she said, calming the restive crowd that had already been waiting for hours. She explained that each application took 10 to 15 minutes to process. One of the two clerks in the office told me she had seen about 75 people before she gave me a confirmation sheet and a sticker that read “I got my IDNYC” after more than two hours of waiting. By the end of the day, the coordinator took off her heels and walked around in fuchsia socks. She said she’d lost count of how many people she’d had helped.
One man in his 30s told me he left and came back just in time for a clerk to call his name.
Declining to provide his name, he said doesn’t have any photo ID beyond his passport, but that the added benefits of discounted movie tickets and memberships to about 33 institutions were just as enticing for him as having proper documentation. “It doesn’t hurt,” he said.
In line for #IDNYC at Manhattan Finance Center. Let’s see how it goes. pic.twitter.com/Slsj46h08F
— Chester Jesus Soria (@chestersoria) January 12, 2015
One man said he waited about an hour and a half for #IDNYC application; only two counters have cameras on site.
— Chester Jesus Soria (@chestersoria) January 12, 2015
Still waiting. Libraries might be a better bet for #IDNYC.
— Chester Jesus Soria (@chestersoria) January 12, 2015
Finally after 2+ hours. City says it already has about 2,000 #IDNYC applicants after a soft launch last week. pic.twitter.com/jBOqXalWpb
— Chester Jesus Soria (@chestersoria) January 12, 2015
Interestingly, #IDNYC clerk gave me back every single document — including the application itself.
— Chester Jesus Soria (@chestersoria) January 12, 2015
