CORONA — New Yorkers can now register for municipal identification cards at a new center in Queens as the city works to meet demand for the program, officials said.
The IDNYC center, which is the borough's fifth and largest, opened Monday in the basement of the Corona Department of Mental Health Center at 34-33 Junction Blvd., an official with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs said.
The city opened the Corona center to meet the massive demand for the identification cards, which has surged since they were unveiled in January, sparking months-long wait times, officials said.
Applicants could get an appointment at the Corona center as early as April, the city announced on Twitter.
The city enrolled 20,000 residents by February, surpassing counts over five years for similar programs in cities including San Francisco and Oakland, according to an official.
The new location can process more than 1,500 enrollments per week and can handle three times the capacity of any other open site in Queens, a city official said.
The center opened its doors for a "soft launch" Monday, but would close again Thursday and Friday for trainings, a city official.
It will officially open March 23 and then operate Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., officials said.
The center will open on Friday and Saturday at its regular time, but close early at 5 p.m. the first day and then 4:30 p.m. next, according to the IDNYC website. The center closes for Sundays.
New York's IDNYC program — which is the biggest in the country — rolled out Jan. 12 for all New Yorkers as a way to provide official identification to thousands who didn't have it before.
New Yorkers arrived at the enrollment centers in droves.
"What we are pleasantly surprised by is the level of interest," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the time.
But some found the online application process confusing, and appointments booked up months in advance.
At Make the Road in Jackson Heights, people lined up for hours — sometimes in the snow — just to make an appointment with one worker.
In February, officials said the city had doubled its capacity by opening new enrollment sites, including one at LaGuardia Community College, and adding staff to existing sites to meet the crushing demand.
To register for the IDNYC card, call 311 or visit their website.
