City ID a real drawing card
Freebies to lure immigrant sign-ups
It’s the best deal in town, and might be the most generous ever offered by the city.
New Yorkers who sign up for new municipal ID cards will be able to score free memberships to nearly three dozen of the city’s top cultural institutions — from the Metropolitan Museum to the zoos in each borough.
In a bid to lure the city’s estimated 500,000 undocumented immigrants to carry official identification, those who enroll will get a sweet deal packed with comped tickets and discounts easily worth $2,100.
But anyone who lives here can sign up.
“This card is going to be something that people from many walks of life are going to be taking advantage of,” Mayor de Blasio said at a press conference at the Bronx Zoo Thursday.
“It’s crucially important, to treat our fellow New Yorkers who happen to be undocumented with great respect and inclusion. That’s a great advantage of this card.”
Municpal ID holders can register with each of 33 cultural institutions for free oneyear membership packages as long as they haven’t been a member since 2012.
Any way you cut it, it’ll be one of the best giveaways around.
The Bronx Zoo package, for example, includes free general admission for one adult, 10 percent discount at selected gift shops and restaurants, discounts on educational programs and courses and invitations to members’ evening and free enewsletters.
And it includes free admission to all zoos managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, including the ones in Central and Prospect Parks as well as the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.
A single adult admission to the Central Park Zoo alone is $18.
The city justified the loss in revenue to the worldclass institutions as a way for them to attract new supporters who will stay on after the free trial.
“In the short run, people get in for free; in the long run, they become lifetime members, contrib uting to that institution,” the mayor said.
All 33 participating institutions get financial support from the city and many also get free space.
Institutions that are not part of the cityfunded Cultural Institutions Group, such as the Museum of Modern Art, are not included.
The mayor signed legislation to create municipal ID cards in July and plans to roll out the program in January.
Proof of residency is required to obtain the ID.
De Blasio said the card is designed to provide an estimated 500,000 undocumented New Yorkers with proof of residency so they can apply for jobs and open bank accounts, while making it easier to interact with city government.
“You can get a lease, a library card. You can get a bank account; you can do so many of the things in life that aren’t possible without an ID card to connect with New York City government more deeply,” de Blasio said.