This past Friday, May 5th, from 10:00AM to 12:00PM, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway) hosted an Unclaimed Funds event at JASA-Brookdale Village Senior Center in Far Rockaway. A representative from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s Office of Unclaimed Funds helped local residents see if their names were listed in the Unclaimed Funds Database, including over a dozen Russian-speakers, with translation assistance from staff at JASA. According to the Comptroller’s office, there are over 35 million unclaimed funds accounts, valued at $14.5 billion, in New York State.

“This is such a wonderful and crucial service that State Comptroller DiNapoli provides,” said Pheffer Amato. “We were very excited to host the event, and we got such warm responses from residents. (Why not? It’s free money!). We so appreciate the Comptroller’s office and JASA for hosting, and we’ll be doing outreach for another upcoming event to make sure as many constituents are aware of their opportunities for unclaimed funds as possible. We’re looking at potentially millions of dollars returned right to our communities, where it can be used to help our families and our local economy.”

“There is over $14.5 billion in unclaimed funds waiting to be claimed, and some of it could be your money” said State Comptroller DiNapoli. “My office has made it easier than ever for New Yorkers to search for and claim what is rightfully theirs. These events with Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato help us spread the word and increase awareness for unclaimed funds.”