Red Cross consolidation could shut Yaphank

Feeling the economic crunch like other charities, the New York-area Red Cross says it is looking to consolidate, which could lead to the closing of its Yaphank office and leave a single office in Mineola serving most of Long Island.

The Shelter Island chapter, which is all volunteers, said it would not be affected.

"Donations are down for all charities, and we don't want to live year-to-year," Sam Kille, spokesman for the Metro NY Region of the Red Cross, said Friday.

"We don't want to be in a position of going out of business the next year. Like other organizations, we are going to have to make changes if we're going to make it," Kille said.

Kille stressed that a final decision had not been made and that the possible Suffolk move was just one of many options.

"The metro region is looking at all our operations: where we are, what we're doing and what makes sense," Kille said.

The regional Red Cross has already begun to consolidate some services, such as payroll and Web services, he said, and was looking at office space, vehicles, purchasing and other areas.

"It does not mean we are pulling out of Suffolk. We will continue to have personnel and vehicles in Suffolk," he said, adding that the agency would look to get donated space.

A spokeswoman for the national Red Cross said the agency has been quietly trying to consolidate its back-office operations in recent years in an attempt to provide more services to its clients in a tough economy.

"We have fewer chapters, but we're still delivering services," spokeswoman Laura Howe said. "We found we did not have to have physical locations to deliver services, that it could be done by neighbors and volunteers."

She said it was difficult to assess fundraising because dramatic events -- earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, and 9/11, for example -- result in a nonrecurring spike in donations. "We raised $450 million for Haiti alone," said.

The Suffolk County chapter, headquartered on Horseblock Road, refused to answer questions Friday. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said through a spokesman that he was not aware of the possible move but had concerns.

"At the very least, if they consolidate to one Long Island office it should be closer [than Mineola] to the Nassau-Suffolk line," Levy spokesman Mark Smith said.

The New York regional office coordinates Long Island, all five boroughs of New York City, five counties north of the city and Greenwich, Conn.

Kille said the Red Cross responds to between 120 and 180 incidents annually on Long Island, most of them residential fires, and that it provided services to 800 people on the island last year.

The LI Red Cross offices

Nassau:

Annual budget, $2.2 million

Staff, 43

Volunteers, 1,300

Suffolk:

Annual budget, $3.7 million

Staff, 60

Volunteers, 700 volunteers

Shelter Island:

Annual budget, $80,000

No staff

Volunteers, 37

SOURCE: Red Cross