|
"
The office that handles urgent passport applications for New York City and Long Island — described as 'backlogged' in a July letter from six area House members, including three from Long Island — has added staff to cut wait times, according to the State Department. Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs Naz Durakoglu wrote in an Aug. 8 letter to Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) that the New York Passport Agency had added seven 'support associates' to its eight-member customer support team to 'bolster the agency’s ability to quickly facilitate urgent travel,' ...The State Department, which runs the New York Passport Agency, responded to the national crunch by authorizing overtime and hiring more workers. But Garbarino and other representatives said in a July 13 letter to State Department officials that delays at the New York agency had jeopardized travel plans for their constituents. The delay had gotten so bad, according to the letter, representatives sometimes made appointments for constituents at other agencies as far away as Buffalo and San Diego. In an email this week, Garbarino described the backlog as 'totally unacceptable' but remained 'encouraged by the State Department’s response to my requests to address the problem.'
"
Read the full article here.
| 
