Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today launched the 16th Annual New York Cares Coat Drive at the Bowery Mission in Lower Manhattan. The Coat Drive, presented by Health Plus, will collect gently used adult and children's coats from December 1st through December 31st and distribute them to needy New Yorkers at homeless shelters, agencies serving seniors and community organizations.  New York Cares hopes to collect and distribute 70,000 coats, adding to the more than half-million coats collected since the Coat Drive's inception in 1989.  Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, Health Plus Chief Marketing Officer Ada Rodriguez, Silverstein Properties, Inc. President and CEO Larry Silverstein, United Parcel Service Manager of Metro NY Lisa Mitchell, President and General Manager of WNBC Frank Comerford and New York Cares Executive Director Ariel Zwang joined the Mayor for the announcement at the Bowery Mission in Lower Manhattan.

"The holiday season allows each of us the chance to help those less fortunate than us and consider ways in which we might bring comfort, joy and relief to their lives.  The New York Cares Coat Drive is one way for New Yorkers to make a difference," said Mayor Bloomberg.  "New Yorkers have shown that they are caring and compassionate by donating more than half a million coats over the past 15 years.  I urge everyone to continue to support the New York Cares Coat Drive by looking into your hearts and your closets and make a donation." 

"Thousands of New Yorkers, including many children, lack a warm coat to get them through the cold winter months," said Executive Director of New York Cares Ariel Zwang. "The Coat Drive is one way ordinary people can make a big difference in the lives of others.  More than 50,000 New Yorkers will donate coats from their own closets over the next month. We are continually inspired by the generosity of the people of New York - they are living examples of the spirit of giving."

"On a daily basis in this job, police officers experience the satisfaction that comes from helping their fellow New Yorkers," said New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.  "The New York Cares Coat Drive provides everyone with a chance to experience a similar feeling by helping to defend the needy against some of the harshness of winter."

To make donations easy, New York Cares has arranged for hundreds of drop-off sites throughout the Metropolitan area.

Public drop-off sites include:

• All NYPD Precincts in the five boroughs - at any time, day or night.
• New York Penn Station (LIRR and Amtrak/NJ Transit Concourses)- weekdays from 7:30AM -9:30AM.
• Grand Central Terminal (Graybar Passage) - weekdays from 7:30AM - 9:30AM.
• New York Port Authority Bus Terminal (Main Concourse, 42nd Street entrance) - weekdays from 7:30AM - 9:30AM.
• Participating NY/NJ Washington Mutual Branches.
• All Janovic Plaza Stores.

Sponsors for the 16th Annual New York Cares Coat Drive include Health Plus, Silverstein Properties, Inc., New York City Police Department, The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Washington Mutual, WNBC-TV/Telemundo, Viacom Outdoor, Time Warner Cable, UPS, Moviefone, and J. Walter Thompson.  Chelsea Market is providing warehouse space for coat storage and sorting during the collection process.  Health Plus is the Presenting Sponsor of this year's Coat Drive.

Founded in 1987, New York Cares enables 27,000 New Yorkers each year to serve on hands-on volunteer projects benefiting schools, social service agencies, homeless shelters, and other deserving organizations. Volunteers tutor children, feed the hungry, help adults develop job and language skills, assist people living with HIV/AIDS, revitalize community gardens, take homeless children on cultural and recreational outings, visit the elderly, provide coats to those who would go without, and make real differences every day in the lives of New Yorkers in need.  For more information about New York Cares, visit www.nycares.org