Easy Way to apply for passports

No waiting at Levittown at Library

Posted

Getting a passport is about to get a whole lot easier.

Nassau County residents will now have another option when applying for a passport — an option with longer hours, personal appointments and more privacy.

On Aug. 6, the Levittown Public Library will become the first library in the county to accept passport applications. In cooperation with the U.S. Department of State, it will begin service as a “one-stop” passport services center.

Unlike area post offices and the town clerk’s office, which close by 5 p.m., the Levittown library will offer the new service six days a week, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 to 5. And there will be no lines to wait on: Residents will be able to call and set up an appointment to review the application one on one with a member of the library staff.

Staff members who have been trained by federal officials will oversee the application process, take the photo if requested, and ensure that State Department policies are followed, according to Steve Dalton, president of the library’s board of trustees. Applicants can sign up for a 15-minute window and “be back home or at work very quickly,” Dalton said. There will be an area in the building dedicated to passport applications.

In a statement announcing the new service, State Sen. Kemp Hannon said the valuable addition to the library’s services is “not only for native-born Long Islanders, but also for the ever-growing immigrant population that we serve on Long Island.”

Dalton expanded on that theme. “The face of Levittown is changing,” he said. “One out of every five students in this school district are Hispanic. . . . This is a new way of serving a growing community.”

Dalton said that the service would be open to all state residents. Fees are fixed by the State Department, and can be found on the library website. Applications must include proof of citizenship and identity. Processing time is fixed at six weeks, or three weeks for expedited requests.

Joining Dalton at a news conference on July 27 to announce the new service were State Assemblyman John Mikulin, County Legislators John Ferretti and Tom McKevitt, Hempstead Town Councilman Dennis Dunne and representatives of the Levittown Chamber of Commerce. Ferretti described the library’s initiative as “innovative.”

To schedule an appointment to apply for a passport, call (516) 731-5728 ext. 502.

The announcement came just days after a controversy emerged over one man’s opinion of the value of public libraries. Professor Panos Mourdoukoutas, economics chair at LIU Post, posted a controversial editorial on the Forbes magazine website July 21, saying libraries were outdated and should be replaced by Amazon. Two days later, following widespread criticism, the piece was removed.

Mourdoukoutas ignited a firestorm among library advocates, who vigorously denounced the piece and the economist’s theory and elaborated on the benefits of libraries for taxpayers.

Dalton said that he tweeted at the economist immediately after reading the post.

“A library is more than just a building that houses books,” Dalton tweeted. “When Superstorm Sandy hit and thousands were out of power, we became a charging station and information center. We have an Innovation Station with 3D printers, scanners, engravers, etc. We offer language-learning software so our residents can be global citizens. We visit classrooms so students learn how to research. We keep thousands of kids reading in the summer. We offer museum passes so our residents can see in person masterpieces that a screen cannot do justice. We do all of this 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week — with a [Civil Service Employees Association] staff that have graduate degrees. We are the community’s living room and would love to have you visit sometime.”