Pittsburg Office Closing

     The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Pittsburg, Kansas Social Security field office is closing.

"There Must Have Been A Thousand People Just Sitting There Waiting"

     From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Robin Blount walked up to what used to be a Social Security Administration field office in North Philadelphia this week and was shocked and angry.  ...

A sign inside the gates read: "The Social Security Administration field office previously operating at this location IS NOW CLOSED."

People were advised to visit the Social Security office in Center City at 15th Street and JFK Boulevard, 2 Penn Center, for service.

"I just went down there," Blount, 52, cried out in frustration. "It was so crowded downtown - there must have been a thousand people just sitting there waiting.

Philadelphia Office Closed

     From KYW:

Some North Philadelphia residents were surprised today to find their local Social Security Administration office shuttered, the result of a tighter federal budget and sequestration.

Since October, the Social Security Administration has closed three of its offices in the Philadelphia region. ...

The office served about 100 people a day, roughly 26,000 a year ...

The Social Security Administration responded to KYW Newsradio‘s request for information today with a written statement saying, “Tighter budget, including cuts due to sequestration, have exacerbated our ability to serve members of the public who need our services, resulting in longer waiting times.” 

A Satellite Office Closes

     From West Hawaii Today:

For the last time in the foreseeable future, the Social Security Administration offered satellite office hours in Kona Tuesday morning.

Social Security employees began calling West Hawaii residents in to the West Hawaii Civic Center’s community room at about 9:30 a.m. By just after 10 a.m., more than 120 people were signed up to use the services. ...

Last year, then-Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-2nd, told West Hawaii Today she would look into the administration’s reasoning for keeping such limited hours in West Hawaii. Not long after that, the administration ended the visits to West Hawaii entirely. They resumed the monthly visits in February, with the intention of coming here only through this month.

     It's a two hour drive from Kona to Hilo, the nearest Social Security field office.
     This same sort of thing is happening all over the country.  This is what inadequate budget resources do to service at Social Security. Read the whole article to see what those waiting in line thought about the idea of doing all their business with Social Security online.

This Is What You Voted For, Oklahoma!

     From KXII in Oklahoma:

The Social Security Administration is closing a Texoma office, citing federal budget cuts and less foot traffic as reasons for the closure.

 Allison Harris spoke with Hugo city leaders who are appealing this closure, saying it's undue and will be a burden for people in the area.

 Hugo city leaders are concerned that southern Oklahomans will be deprived access to social security support. ...

City manager Jeff Rabon says the Social Security Administration is closing its Hugo office in June, consolidating it with the Paris office. ...

"You know, we all breathe the same air, to quote President Kennedy, 'We pay the same taxes;' we don't want to see any services diminished." ...

The consolidation would force many elderly people in the area to either go online for social security help, or drive further -- by up to 85 miles -- to the Paris office.

"We feel like it's our responsibility to represent the people of our area to say, wait a minute, you know, we already struggle for access to services as it is; it's either Durant or to McAlester or, you know, Oklahoma City or Tulsa," Rabon said.

We spoke with an employee at the Hugo office who says many of their clients don't have access to the Internet, nor the resources to drive further to the Paris office.

"A lot of them don't even know how to use a computer. They're very upset over it, they say, 'what are we going to do without this?'

East Memphis Office To Close

     From the Memphis Flyer:

If all goes as planned, the Social Security office in East Memphis will close on December 28th, leaving 75,000 beneficiaries with the burden of traveling miles away to receive assistance.

 The East Memphis office, located on Players Club Parkway, is slated to close due to administrative budget cuts.

 The closure is estimated to save $300,000 annually....

On an average day, the office sees more than 150 walk-ins and receives more than 500 telephone calls.  ...

"Much of our administrative costs are to fund our employees and facilities across the country, and these cuts make it challenging to acquire and maintain adequate staffing," said Frank Viera, deputy regional communications director for the Social Security Administration. "Last fiscal year, we lost more than 4,000 federal and state employees, including more than 1,600 field office employees. We cannot afford to replace these employees, and we cannot continue to keep as many facilities operating as in prior years."

Plaquemine Field Office To Close

     The Social Security Administration is closing its field office in Plaquemine, LA on December 14 to save $4 million a year.

Employees Protest Closure Of Memphis Office

     From WREG:

About a dozen government union workers holding signs pleading with the feral (sic) government to keep the east Memphis Social Security office open, lined Players Club Parkway Monday.

The parking lot is full, but the doors are expected to close December 28th.

“The agency stated they could save 300,000 dollars a year. With all the budget cuts, they needed to shut the office down,” said American Federation of Government Employees local president, Peter Harris. ...

Three offices will remain open in Memphis.

Field Offices To Start Closing At Noon On Wednesdays

     Social Security field offices are already closing a half hour early each day due to the agency's inadequate operating budget. The budget problems will just get worse over time even without the sequestration set to begin on January 1, 2013. Sequestration will dramatically cut the budget for Social Security and all other parts of the federal establishment. Now, the Social Security field office in Tuscaloosa is announcing that it will be closing at noon on Wednesdays beginning January 2, 2013. There has been no announcement yet that all Social Security offices will be closing at noon on Wednesdays but it would make sense. I doubt that this is a local thing in Tuscaloosa. I'm pretty sure that much more will be required if sequestration comes to pass.

     Update: And here's confirmation from the AARP that all field offices will be closing at noon on Wednesdays beginning January 2, 2013.

    Further update: And here's the Social Security press release on this. Normally, I receive e-mail notification of these but I either didn't get it yesterday or I missed it somehow. You too can get the press releases by e-mail.

Office Closure Situation Improves

     From a Social Security Administration website:

The following Social Security Offices will be closed today, November 5, 2012:

Maryland
Cumberland

New Jersey
Brick
Hoboken     
New Brunswick

New York
Astoria      
Downtown
Manhattan Social Security Card Center    
White Plains

---

The following Social Security Offices are closed until further notice:

Massachusetts
Roxbury

New York
East Village
Far Rockaway

Many Field Offices Closed Indefinitely

     From a Social Security Administration website:

The following offices will open at 10 am ET today, November 2, 2012:
New Jersey
Somerville
New York
Freeport
Mineola
Patchogue
Riverhead
West Babylon
Melville

The following office is closing at 10 am ET  today, November 2, 2012:
New Jersey
Toms River

The following Social Security Offices are closed today, November 2, 2012:

New Jersey
Bricktown
Hackensack
Hoboken
Jersey City
Neptune
New Brunswick
Parsippany

New York
Hunts Point
Hylan Boulevard
Laconia Avenue

Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg
Fairless Hills

---

The following Social Security Offices are closed indefinitely:

New York
Astoria	Long Island City
Avenue X	Manhattan Card Center
Bedford Heights	Melville
Boro Hall	Midtown
Bronx Card Center	Mineola
Bronx Hub	New Utrecht
Brooklyn Card Center	North Bronx
Bushwick	Patchogue
Canarsie	Queens Card Center
Cypress Hills	Rego Park
Downtown	Riverhead
Dunkirk	South Bronx
East Bronx	Staten Island
East Harlem	Uptown
East Village	Washington Heights
Flatbush	West Babylon
Flushing	West Farms
Freeport	West Seneca
Grand Central	White Plains
Jamaica	Williamsburg

---

The following Social Security Office is closed until further notice:
Massachusetts
Roxbury

      Is there damage to the offices that are closed indefinitely? If so, this is a serious situation. I hope it's just lack of power. I've been through a long power outage. It's tough but flooded offices are much worse. Good luck to all involved in straightening out this situation.

     Update: The lists above are confused. All the New York offices listed as reopening today are also on the "closed indefinitely" list! The Jamaica office is shown as closed indefinitely but is this just the field office or is the payment center included? An indefinite shutdown at the Jamaica payment center would truly be a disaster for Social Security.

Office Closure List Grows

     From a Social Security Administration website:

The following offices in West Virginia will have a delayed opening at 10:00am:
Beckley
Bluefield

The following Social Security Offices are closed today, October 31, 2012 [I think these offices are closed today, that this date is the error.]:

Michigan
Fort Gratiot

New Jersey
Brick
Clifton
Hackensack
Hoboken
Jersey City
Neptune
New Brunswick
Parsippany
Somerville
Toms River
Trenton
Union Township
Woodbridge

New York
Astoria
Avenue X
Bedford Heights
Boro Hall
Bronx Card Center
Bronx Hub
Brooklyn Card Center
Bushwick
Canarsie
Cypress Hills
Downtown
East Bronx
East Harlem
East Village
Far Rockaway
Flatbush
Flushing
Freeport
Grand Central
Hunts Point
Hylan Boulevard
Jamaica
Laconia Avenue
Long Island City
Manhattan Card Center
Melville
Midtown
Mineola
New Rochelle
North Bronx
Patchogue
Peekskill
Queens Card Center
Rego Park
Riverhead
South Bronx
Staten Island
Uptown
Washington Heights
West Babylon
West Farms
West Nyack
White Plains
Williamsburg
Yonkers

Ohio
Cleveland Northwest

Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg
Fairless Hills

West Virginia
Elkins
Welch

---

The following Social Security Office is closed until further notice:

Massachusetts
Roxbury

New Jersey Offices Remain Closed

    From a Social Security Administration website:

The following Social Security Office [sic] is closed today, October 31, 2012:
Michigan
Fort Gratiot

New Jersey
Brick
Clifton
Hackensack
Hoboken
Jersey City
Neptune
New Brunswick
Somerville
Toms River
Trenton
Union Township

Ohio
Cleveland Northwest

     At least Social Security's central offices and the Appeals Council have reopened.

Office Closures Due To Hurricane

     From a Social Security website:

The following Social Security offices will be closed Monday, October 29, 2012:
All Baltimore, MD metro area offices [which includes the Office of Central Operations]
All offices on the Delmarva Peninsula
All Connecticut offices
All Massachussetts offices
All New Jersey offices
All New York City offices
All offices in the following New York counties:  Westchester, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk.
All Philadelphia, PA area offices
All Rhode Island offices
All Washington, DC metro area offices [which includes the Appeals Council]

---

The following Social Security Office is closed until further notice:
Massachusetts
Roxbury

     By the way, what happened in Roxbury? That has to be more than the hurricane.

Congressmen Fight To Save Field Office

     Iowa Congressmen are still trying to save the Clinton, Iowa Social Security field office, which is threatened with closure.

Another Field Office To Close

    The Jenkintown, PA Social Security field office is closing at the end of this month. The local Congresswoman isn't happy.

Five Field Offices To Close

     From the Federal Times:

The Social Security Administration will close five field offices by the end of September, according to the union representing agency employees.

Those five, among almost 1,300 nationwide, are in Biloxi, Miss., Ketchikan, Alaska; Louisville, Ky.; Washington, D.C.; and Clinton, Iowa, the American Federation of Government Employees said in a news release.

The agency has already closed eight field offices since January.

In an email, SSA spokesman Mark Hinkle said the five offices are being consolidated with others and no worker will lose their jobs. The single employee in the Ketchikan office is retiring, Hinkle said. ...

“Given the tight budget situation, we’ve had to make tough choices, including consolidating a small number of our offices,” Hinkle said. ...

The latest step is already drawing protests from lawmakers who represent affected communities. Closing the Ketchikan field office would reportedly save only $100,000, members of the Alaska delegation said in a July 13 letter to Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue. They urged Astrue to consider “all feasible alternatives.”

Biloxi Office To Close

     The Associated Press reports that the Biloxi, Mississippi Social Security field office will permanently close its doors on September 30. This is supposed to save $3 million, although the report does not say how long it will take to save that amount. It has a population of 44,000.

Fighting To Keep Field Office From Closing

     Local officials are still trying hard to keep the Clinton, IA Social Security field office open.

     Just think of how many field offices get closed if the House Republican appropriation for the Social Security Administration becomes law. Now, that I think of it, maybe Social Security should be putting out a press release on this subject now.

Iowa Field Office Remains At Risk

    From the Clinton Iowa Herald:

The Social Security Administration office in Clinton is in danger of being closed again. ...

The office ... was on the chopping block four years ago when SSA officials said they would close the office by June 1, 2008, and consolidate operations with the Davenport office.

That merger was ultimately scrapped after elected officials and residents raised concerns about elderly or disabled residents’ travel restrictions and discomfort with 1-800 phone numbers and the Internet.

Few details of the current closure proposal are available. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, sent a letter to Jewell Colbert, the regional communications director for the Kansas City Regional SSA office, asking for more information. Vulich said he had not received any further explanation of when or why the office is being slated for closure.   ...