Social Security office in Patchogue opens, as residents trickle in

At 9:06 a.m., the doors opened to the Social Security office in Patchogue and residents with scheduled appointments were instructed to enter first. Within 10 minutes more than a dozen people were allowed inside.

Lauren Brown, of Coram, said she had a 9 a.m. appointment for a name change after she was recently married.

“It seems like that the offices are going to be open but the thing is are people showing up to work?” she wondered while waiting in line before heading inside.

The Social Security Administration is expected to furlough over 6,000 employees during the duration of the shutdown, according to the agency's contingency plan.

Bernard Addy of Deer Park said he had no issues at the office when he arrived for his scheduled appointment.

“It went very smoothly,” he said. “You don’t notice anything like the government is shut down. … I got here; within 10 minutes I’m out.”

Tony Pinto of Middle Island said he needed a replacement Social Security card and made an appointment about a month ago for Wednesday. He said he was relieved the office was still open. “I think the federal government needs to get their butt together and work bipartisan,” he said of the shutdown.

“We pay the price,” he added. “The little people always get hit. Those guys in those seats don’t know what it is to be hit with what’s going on.”

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments will continue, despite the shutdown, the Social Security Administration said in its contingency plan published last week.

Several basic services will continue, according to the plan, including benefit applications, information changes and eligibility hearings.

Medicare benefits will continue as well, the federal government said, and funding is available for Medicaid through the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.

In 2023, $641.6 million in Social Security benefits was paid to 312,015 recipients in Suffolk County and $575.8 million was paid to 270,745 people in Nassau County, according to the state comptroller's office.

More than 16,800 federal government employees worked on Long Island in 2024, the state comptroller's office said.

The comptroller's office also notes 366,980 Suffolk County residents and 308,393 Nassau County residents are enrolled in Medicaid.