After a day of technological snafus, the website to enroll the city’s municipal ID program was up and running, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday.
By midday, more than 17,000 people had requested an appointment for the IDNYC card, mostly though the website. More than 5,000 people had already been enrolled, three days after the program launched.
“We honestly thought it would ramp up over time,” de Blasio said, speaking an an unrelated news conference in Brooklyn. “We got a huge outpouring of interest in the beginning. We consider that a victory.”
For those calling 311 to make an appointment, the wait time was about six minutes, he said.
The IDNYC program hopes to allow residents to obtain a legal identification card that can be used, like a driver’s license, at government agencies and businesses requiring photo ID.
Immigration status would not be a factor in evaluating applications, de Blasio has said.
“We think things are moving in a very good direction,” he said. “We just didn’t expect such a wonderful demand. It’s a good thing and we will add additional personnel as needed.”
