DOGE says it is canceling the leases for the Social Security Administration in Poughkeepsie and White Plains, totaling more than $870,000 annually. A third New York location, in Horseheads, was listed as being worth more than $310,000.
The Poughkeepsie Social Security office closed at the end of January for what local officials were told were “temporary renovations." But at a press conference last week, lawmakers like Congressman Pat Ryan expressed concerns the office may never reopen, saying they had received very little information about the closure from the SSA.
Speaking with WAMC Friday, Ryan, a Democrat from the 18th District, says this is exactly what he feared.
“This will deeply harm so many of my constituents, so many people in the Hudson Valley that count on being able to go to an office to access the benefits that they have worked their whole lives to earn," says Ryan.
It’s unclear exactly what the listings mean, or if the office could still operate at some level. The SSA did not return a request for comment, and its website says the Poughkeepsie location was available for phone calls Friday, even if it’s closed to in-person service.
The Trump Administration has been using DOGE, headed by Elon Musk, to slash spending across federal agencies, but Social Security offices have long been dwindling in the Hudson Valley; the Kingston office closed for “temporary renovations” years ago and never reopened. The Newburgh location closed last summer, as did an office in West Nyack.
Lawmakers in Westchester County have been up in arms over the slated closure of the White Plains hearing office. New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter to Acting SSA Commissioner Lee Dudek this week asking him to reconsider closing the hub, which serves as a central point the Hudson Valley. James says the White Plains office currently has a backlog of roughly 2,000 cases, and that “eliminating the office would exacerbate the problem and harm even more vulnerable New Yorkers.”
The SSA has a website where residents can apply for and manage their benefits — but not everything can be done online, and not everyone is computer literate. New York State Senator Rob Rolison, a Republican from the 39th District, says seniors in particular struggle.
“That’s why people want to go in person," he says. "What would we do if we put everything online with the Department of Motor Vehicles? You go to that building at any given time, and there are people in there that are waiting to see someone to help them through whatever they need to get done, including myself.”
He says the confusion over the matter is particularly frustrating.
"The public, they have a right to have clear and accurate information as it relates to government services. It’s like, ‘Maybe we’re gonna plow the roads today, or maybe [not]?' It’s not fair," he adds. "Savings are great, especially when it comes to government. But when we’re talking about Social Security, people deserve better."
In the meantime, Poughkeepsie residents wanting to speak with a SSA rep in person will have to drive roughly 50 minutes to either Peekskill or Middletown. Ryan and Rolison both say they are working to get more information, and that residents can contact them if they need help accessing their benefits.
Ryan also says he plans to fight the closures from Washington D.C.
"It's deeply un-American to allow Elon Musk, an unelected multibillionaire, to access Social Security records — but very people who earned these benefits can't even go to an office now to access these benefits," says Ryan. "It's absolutely unacceptable."
