Peralta urges residents to claim funds

When Lucy Garcia gave her name and address to a representative from the state’s comptroller’s office, she was hoping she might be eligible to receive a check as part of the state’s unclaimed funds.
“You don’t lose anything by checking; you might be lucky,” Garcia said.
After giving her information, Garcia found out she had unclaimed funds, and that she could fill out a form and receive a check within a month.
“I’m so happy that I got another check this year,” said Garcia, who is a Director of the Elmhurst-Jackson Heights Senior Center.
However, Garcia is only one of more than 56,000 people in Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Flushing, Jackson Heights and Woodside eligible to receive $2.8 million in unclaimed funds, according numbers from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Assemblymember Jose Peralta.
Peralta, who represents the region, held a meeting at the Elmhurst-Jackson Heights Senior Center on Thursday, February 14 to alert constituents that they may qualify for these unclaimed funds.
“In a time of recession, it becomes imperative for me to do everything in my power to help my constituents with their ever-increasing bills and expenses,” Peralta said.
The unclaimed funds are an accumulation of accounts including un-cashed checks, utility/phone deposits, rental security deposits and mortgage insurance as well as a host of other sources. Currently, New York State has $8 billion in unclaimed funds, with amounts starting at $50, and Peralta is trying to get the message out to his constituents so they can find out if they are eligible for the funds.
“We are going to go senior center by senior center, and every time I’m at an event, I’m going to tell people about it,” said Peralta, who also recently found out he was eligible to receive unclaimed funds once he filled out the proper paperwork. “You never know who will qualify.”
Peralta said that during these difficult economic times, having these additional funds is even more crucial.
“This money can be used for a night out with the family, pay a bill, buy new clothes or for a new savings deposit account for a child’s education,” Peralta said.
People interested to see if they are eligible for any unclaimed funds, should call 1-800-221-9311 or send a written inquiry to the Office of the State Comptroller c/o Office of Unclaimed Funds 110 State Street Albany, NY 12236. In addition, people can visit www.osc.state.ny.us to receive more information.