Federal, state and local officials are urging the General Services Administration to scrap plans that might see the downtown Buffalo U.S. Passport Office relocate to the suburbs.
The office, which anchors the renovated Genesee Gateway Building at 111 Genesee Street, serves an average of 10,000 customers annually and employs 90 people. Congressman Tim Kennedy, along with Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, all said they were surprised to learn the federal GSA was issuing an RFP for the passport office that could see it, possibly, leave downtown for a suburban site. The proposal doesn’t sit well with Kennedy.
“That's why it's so important that we keep them right here in the heart of the city of Buffalo,” Kennedy said. “The people of our community are depending upon.”
Kennedy believes losing that office would hurt an already suffering downtown Buffalo that is battling 20,000 less workers.
The Buffalo passport office is one of 27 in the country and serves Upstate New York as well as people from Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“Since opening, this agency has assisted thousands of people in receiving passports, and its location here is absolutely vital to the heart of downtown Buffalo,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy, Schumer and Gillibrand have all asked the GSA to rescind the request and keep the passport office in the Genesee Gateway Building.
It’s not only federal leaders crying foul concerning the possible shift of the passport office to the suburbs. State Sen and mayoral candidate Sean Ryan has echoed those same concerns.
“The RFP is anti-urban and does not recognize the tremendous impact that this building has had on the city,” Ryan said.
The GSA has not set a timetable for when it may make a decision.
