clipped from www.nydailynews.com Time Bank offers New Yorkers chance to trade services BY Kathleen Lucadamo DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU Tuesday, January 12th 2010, 4:00 AM Hagen for News Mayor Bloomberg Can a hokey idea be a hit in New York? Mayor Bloomberg is banking on it. The city quietly started a Time Bank, where an hour of volunteering earns you a "time dollar" to spend on receiving other services, like tutoring or a cooking lesson, from fellow members. The idea is for New Yorkers to create online profiles through www.nyc.gov/service, list their talents and trade them with one another. So if you are an ace cook who wants to learn Spanish, you earn "dollars" by making a meal for a member and can spend them to learn the language from another member. Time Banks are an international movement that gained momentum recently because of the job crisis and volunteer craze. There are more than 300 Time Banks in 22 countries from Portland, Ore., to Madrid, according to Time Banks USA.