If Santa put a gift card in your stocking, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is urging you to spend it. According to the financial watchdog’s office, which monitors unused card balances, there are more than $55 million in gift card funds floating around NYC, much of that money dating back to purchases made in 2021.
“Spend those gift cards you get this holiday season, so they don’t become unclaimed funds,” DiNapoli said in a press release. “Also consider taking the extra step of registering the gift card so if you do forget about it, it’s easier to return those funds to you. No one wants to lose money, and we want to make sure if you do, you know you can always claim it by going to our website. Funds sent to our office never expire and are free to claim.”
According to DiNapoli’s office, of the $55.5 million in unused balances, Manhattanites have the most gift card money — $21.8 million, followed by Brooklyn residents with almost $13 million. Queens and the Bronx have an excess of $9.7 and $9.1 million, respectively, while Staten Island totals in at just under $2 million…