We, the undersigned, on behalf of the most vulnerable population in the greater New York City area and their families, oppose the closing of the Bernard Fineson Developmental Disabilities Services Office (DDSO).

Bernard Fineson has earned a stellar reputation for serving and caring for individuals who suffer from a myriad of developmental disabilities for 30 years. It will be the 20th DDSO closed by the state if its doors are shut as planned in March 2017, leaving the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) with only two remaining DDSOs in New York. One is located in Tupper Lake, in the heart of the Adirondacks 60 miles from the Canadian border, and the other is in Norwich, more than 30 miles northeast of Binghamton.

This closure is harmful not only to the developmentally disabled individuals, but to their families who will be forced to travel hundreds of miles in order to see their loved ones and participate in their treatment and care.

The needs of the individuals who have been transferred and have high intensive treatment needs are not adjusting to group homes. Many are forced to go back to their families, some go to jail, and others end up in psychiatric hospital emergency centers. We ask the state to address the current and future needs of these individuals and the diminishment in public services that were once the safety net for people with developmental disabilities.

We ask that the state protect these individuals by keeping Bernard Fineson DDSO open in a community where professional and specialized public services are in demand.