New York DMVs were even more hellish than normal Wednesday as people scrambled to get REAL IDs on deadline day.
“Yesterday was crazy. Today is going to be worse because today is the deadline,” said a worker at the Atlantic Avenue Terminal DMV in Brooklyn — which had longer wait times and was turning away people without appointments.
“They get angry and they want to fight with us,” the worker said of REAL ID-seekers— adding employees recently called police to handle unruly customers.
“They need to put it on the website that if you come to the DMV, you need an appointment. It’s not saying it on the website,” said the worker, who asked not to be named.
The new identification cards — which US citizens must have to fly on planes starting May 7 — left DMVs swamped as thousands of people flocked to the government centers last-minute, sources said.
Blessing Odita, a 40-year-old actor, said she may have to miss her film shoot in Texas later this month because she was turned away from the DMV on Atlantic Avenue.
“I thought I could just walk in,” she said.
“My thought was maybe they’d give us a number but it wasn’t like that anymore.”
She left with an appointment in ten days, which may ruin her travel plans, she said.
“They gave me an appointment for the 17th of this month, and it’s crazy because I need to be on a movie shoot on the 22nd,” she said.
Walk-in customers were handed slips of paper with weeks-away appointments Wednesday, with one man saying he couldn’t get one until July 2.
Others were frustrated by clerical headaches.
Justin Vespucci, 31, of Park Slope, had booked an appointment for Wednesday and waited for an hour — only to be turned away because he forgot to bring his birth certificate, which is required to get the card.
“They wouldn’t let me grab it real quick. I booked this a month ago. I need to reschedule so I will probably wait until June or something,” he said.
Alison Blackwood, 52, of Brooklyn, was also turned away at the DMV, saying, “I’m just going to go home and make it online.”
DMVs nationwide, including ones in South Carolina, California and Washington State, also reported longer wait times as thousands flocked to the government centers.
Meanwhile, the transition was reportedly smooth with minimal passenger disruptions at airports nationally, according to USA Today and other outlets.
Lines at Laguardia Airport were also moving without trouble when a Post reporter visited Wednesday.
Travelers without proper IDs could face additional screening or be denied boarding, Transportation Security Administration officials have said.
Other forms include a U.S. passport, Permanent resident card and other documents.
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