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Social Security Administration to close Long Beach office Friday
After $1 billion budget cut, agency closes a number of doors
After Congress slashed nearly $1 billion from its budget, the Social Security Administration will permanently close its Long Beach office on East Park Ave. on Friday at noon, as the agency consolidates operations, scales back hours and transfers services to nearby locations. The closure means that thousands of Long Beach residents, many of them seniors, will be forced to visit the agency’s locations in Freeport, Mineola or Far Rockaway. District Manager Joseph D’Orio said that residents were being notified of the closure but declined to comment and referred the Herald to its regional communications director, Everett Lo, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The closure of the Long Beach office, at 25-27 E. Park Ave., is one of many office closures throughout the country — locally, the agency planned to shut offices in Mount Vernon, N.Y. and in Connecticut — after Congress provided nearly $1 billion less in federal funding to the agency’s budget this year. According to the Social Security Administration, nearly 55 million Americans received $727 billion in Social Security benefits last year, accounting for roughly 20 percent of the federal budget. “Congress provided our agency with nearly $1 billion less than the President requested for our budget this fiscal year, which makes it impossible for us to provide the amount of overtime needed to handle service to the public as we have in the past,” Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, said on the agency’s website. Still, with more than 30,000 residents in Long Beach, some said that the closure will inconvenience residents, especially senior citizens and those with disabilities who rely on the office’s close proximity. “I did everything I politically could to let them know how it would impact our city,” said Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, adding that he called on federal lawmakers to find a way to keep the local office open. “Our population is about a third senior citizens and we have a diverse population and many people with disabilities, and this is really an inconvenience. Considering our population, it was a pretty busy office.”
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I understand the need to cut budgets but I have to ask," why is it that the ones who need the services the most are the ones who end up having to pay for it the most, one way or another?" Personally, I think that closing the Social Security office in Long Beach will truly impact upon our senior population. If anything, perhaps cut back on the hours of operation but to close the office permanently , that would be a real dis-service to the most fragile who live in our City by the Sea.
This is another case of cutting help for the most needy- the elderly and disabled. I am disabled, and this office has helped me resolve many complicated problems quickly. The Long Beach area does have a large number of sick and elderly people, and this office is in the right spot, with access to mass transit. Many of those people, like me, don't drive. Getting to Freeport and back will literally take hours, if the weather even permits it. And that office will probably be overwhelmed with the new clients from this area. The Social Security Office also helps with our Health Care programs. If people can't get to an office to even apply for these benefits, they might just stay home until they get sick enough to require really expensive care. In many ways, this is a short-term savings that will end up costing dearly, both in more expense and loss of quality of life for our most vulnerable people.
And sadly, this will be one more notch in the loss of the vital "downtown" of Long Beach. The LIRR Station has cut hours, and there are many vacant stores. But there will still be Federal money to beautify roads and buy energy-efficient buses.
My thanks to the people who have helped me at the Social Security office over the years. Even though they've been cut to a skeleton crew lately, they still worked hard to resolve every problem I've had, quickly and efficiently.
agree this odffice should not be shut. contact local politicians asap. (i don;t use the office, but given LB's demographics (and geographics), it is a good place for an office))