By Gina Martinez
After four months of deliberation, a Staten island judge has ruled that the city could destroy documents associated with the IDNYC program.
State Supreme Court Justice Philip Minardo last week struck down a lawsuit filed by state Assembly members Ron Castorina and Nicole Malliotakis to stop the city from destroying the data, they said the policy violates the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The Republican lawmakers contended the computer scanning of passports, leases, bank statements and other documents should be retained by law enforcement, while city officials testified that applications for the municipal identification card, including names, addresses, dates of birth and copies of the cards, themselves, would not be kept on file.
Since 2015, the IDNYC program has provided over 1 million New York City residents with free photo identification. It is believed that half of IDNYC cardholders are undocumented immigrants. All New York residents can enroll regardless of immigration status, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged from the outset to protect their personal information. The IDs give cardholders access to services and benefits like entry into public buildings, including schools to take the high school equivalency exam in New York City. The cards are also accepted as valid photo ID to open up bank accounts.
De Blasio has said that he would fight any appeal of the ruling, he has not specified when the documents would be destroyed.
“With this decision, the State Supreme Court protected the personal information of a million New Yorkers,” de Blasio said. “IDNYC was created to protect people and connect them to vital services, and today’s decision ensures it will continue to do just that. We applaud the ruling and will fight any attempt to appeal it.”
City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), whose district has one of the highest populations of immigrants in the city, celebrated the ruling, saying the case was motivated by racism and xenophobia.
“I hail Judge Minardo’s decision to allow the city to discard personal documents associated with IDNYC cardholders,” Dromm said. “I am pleased that the court effectively dismantled Assembly members Castorina and Malliotaki’s effort to put our immigrant families in harm’s way. We must never allow Trump surrogates to tear our communities apart.”
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
