State and federal lawmakers are pushing back on plans by the General Services Administration to move the Buffalo Passport Agency out of downtown Buffalo and into the suburbs.
Leading the charge is Rep. Tim Kennedy, NY-26, who says the office is currently located in a perfect location, citing people who take nearly a dozen different bus routes and the light rail have access to it.
“For out-of-towners traveling often by bus or train, they are often dropped off in downtown Buffalo, making this easy for them to access,” he said. “This passport agency anchors the Genesee Gateway project, a site that has helped to revitalize this long struggling corridor.”
Kennedy says the agency can handle up to 160 passports per day, and also attracts customers from Pennsylvania and Ohio due to its efficiency.
U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are also joining Kennedy in urging the GSA to keep the agency in Buffalo, with both releasing statements Monday.
“This plan to move Buffalo’s Passport Agency out of downtown should be stamped ‘Return To Sender,’ because there is no way we are going to tolerate making it more difficult for Western New Yorkers to get the IDs they need to travel,” Schumer said in part in a statement.
“Moving the Buffalo Passport Agency out of the downtown area would be a huge step backward for accessibility and for the tens of thousands of Western New Yorkers who depend on this essential service every year,” Gillibrand said in part in a statement.
