Mid-Manhattan Library Enrollment Center

I decided to wait till end of year to get my IDNYC so i can have all of next year for museums etc. Made my appointment online and it was at 100 Centre St at the Parole Dept. Was i at the right place? Realized this whole thing is a trap to get criminals and lllegals in there using the goodies. I also thought I was getting the card same day. No it took two weeks and I received it last week but was giving up hope for my free Bronx zoo ID. I spent three days going to zoos and botanical gardens. The crap thing is this is also great for seniors but why not sign up the museums online. I mean they check your background and address exstensivley I think before granting you this card, So I did the leg work and hopefully enjoy it all. Most are bare bones memberships like Bronx zoo and charge extra $ for some exhibits. Some museums are free to begin with but ask donations and you don’t need the card. Worth it if you use it. do go to the zoo. aquarium etc. That’s worthwhile. I say it’s really entrapment.

I have to say for a government service, the entire process went by pretty quickly and without much hassle. I took an appointment here after checking online appointments for libraries outside Manhattan, thinking the appointments would be more available. Wrong! So to Mid Manhattan I went:
I think the trick is the following:
1) Make appointment online.
2) Make the appointment as late as possible during the day. This library opens late. Take a LATE appointment.
3) Make sure you have the proper documentation before you fill out the application.
When I went in I waited in the little waiting area for only a few minutes, was called in and processed pretty quickly. There was a small crowd, but there were many people in this office processing. This seems to be one of the larger centers. A few weeks later I received my ID.

I didn’t wait in line at all. I made the appointment online, and then I showed up with my papers, filled out the application and went straight in.
The whole process took about fifteen minutes.
There was no crowd, the process was simple and easy and I did what I came to do. What more could you ask from a government office?

Last week I received a mailing at my apt that informed me that there was a brand new, FREE ID card for all NYC residents. It also told me that there are 8 million New Yorkers & ONE card for all of us!
When I showed up at The Mid Manhattan Library, there were tons of rent-​a-​security-​guards standing around. I thought maybe I was entering the White House with all of the security. One rent-​a-​guard barked at everyone in the line «You all gotta have an appointment to be in this line. Anybody who doesn’t needs to STEP AWAY AND DON’T COME BACK UNTIL YOU HAVE ONE.»
We all nodded that yes, we did indeed have one. Rent-​A-​Guard then allowed us to continue in line to a fold out table, where two men sat with laptops & enrollment forms. I’m not sure if they were volunteers or staff, but they had been total assholes to everyone in line before me. These guys were like the soup nazi of ID’s.
«NEXT!», shouted one of the men. I cautiously stepped forward and told him that I was there for my appointment. He rolled his eyes, didn’t verify that I had one, and asked me for my ID.
I handed him my NYS Drivers license. The IDNYC website states this will act «as full proof of residency for 4 points». Despite this, he insisted that I show him ANOTHER proof of address.
Luckily I had a utility bill on hand as backup, & was able to use that.
He stared at my items in silence for about a minute. He actually looked disappointed that he wasn’t able to tell me to go back home and return with proper ID, like he had to five people before me. I was then rewarded with an enrollment form, and instructed to fill it out in the waiting area.
As I filled out my form, I was already envisioning kicking my feet up at the Botanical Gardens. About fifteen other people sat around the second waiting area filling out applications. Staff members kept announcing «ONCE YOU HAVE FILLED OUT THE APPLICATION, COME INTO THE NEXT ROOM». So, when I was done, I walked toward the next room. A hand quickly shot up in front of my face and stopped me in my tracks.
«Whoa, whoa» the woman said, «I need your ID and proof of address». It was in my hand, so I showed it to her to verify for the second go round.
Inside the next room, incredible odors of B.O. wafted around as bad as on the subway in Summer. There was a guy who kept ordering people to change seats. First he wanted everyone with a passport on one side, then moved them back to the other. He then had us sit in one row, but kept moving us around to other random empty seats. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it. I think he was just on a power trip & wanted to feel important.
After a few more minutes of waiting, I was finally sent down to one of the numbered desks. No one was actually taken in order of their appointment time. It kind looked of like a Trader Joes checkout area, but with mean cashiers.
The person I was sent to had changed desks, so I had to go back to the waiting area with the musical chairs nazi. A few minutes later, the chair nazi shouted «DESK 8!» and pointed at the desk-​just incase I couldn’t read numbers.
The woman at desk 8 looked like she wanted to end her life. She didn’t look up from her computer when I said hi, and asked if it was my first time applying. It was, so she said «ID AND ENROLLMENT FORM.» I handed her my stuff and she typed for about ten minutes in silence, then proceeded to scan my info. When she gave me a final form to verify that she had entered the correct information, it was all wrong. She had a random apartment number, and a different zip code than I had written. Once she fixed her errors she told me to go sit in front of the blue screen for my photo.
The flash went off without warning and startled me. The woman said «you need to hold still for photos, and no hair in front of your ears.»
She took another photo and said «You had teeth showing. You can’t show your teeth in these photos.» The hair and teeth thing might have been useful to mention prior to taking the pictures. After a third flash, I apparently took an acceptable image. She told me my ID would arrive by mail in 4 – 6 weeks. The whole process took about 40 minutes, and wasn’t quick or easy in my book.
For New Yorkers who already have state issued ID cards with a NYC address, this seems like overkill. If these places are giving away free year memberships to NYC residents, why can’t anyone who already has an ID which lists NYC address get one? And why have we been missing out all these years and having to pay to begin with?
I’m sure NYC has some big brother, ulterior motive with this new system. It’s also very possible that IDNYC has created a kick back deal with these organizations to make it worth their while.
Nether-​less, there is no reason that the staff of these centers need to be so condescending and rude to everyone applying. I’m sure they deal with many morons who can’t follow directions, but the majority of the people there the day I was were educated people who just wanted to go to The Met for free.