Mayor Bill de Blasio has accomplished one of the central goals of his campaign by signing legislature which will offer municipal IDs to all New York residents, regardless of their immigration status. New York City Identity Cards will help previously disadvantaged groups such as the homeless, the elderly and members of the transgender community, to provide official ID so they can sign checks, sign leases and enter office buildings.
“We cannot accept a city where some of our residents are forced to live fearfully in the shadows,” De Blasio stated this morning.
The IDs will be available in January of 2015, making this the largest municipal identification card system in the country. Though initially planned as a free service, a small fee will be charged for the first year.
To acquire the cards, applicants must submit a photo-embedded proof of identity (such as a foreign driver license) and residency (like utility bill or bank statement). Earlier this week, the NYCLU pulled their support for the bill due to privacy concerns, because the bill requires ID recipients to supply the sensitive information such as their social security numbers and copies of pay stubs to the city, which can then be viewed by the NYPD and the FBI at any time without a warrant. (Photo: Rob Bennett/Mayoral Photography Office)
