Long Island, New York
Long Island Disability Lawyers for Nassau and Suffolk SSDI and SSI Claims
One Social Security hearing office, at 730 Federal Plaza in Central Islip, serves six field offices from Mineola to Riverhead, while the Long Island City and Far Rockaway field offices are assigned to the Queens hearing office. Downard & Associates represents Long Island claimants in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, from the application through reconsideration and a hearing before an administrative law judge. We work by phone or video from our office in Lebanon, Tennessee, and there is no fee unless you win.
How we help
What We Handle for Long Island Claimants
Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video.
Two details can shape a Long Island claim before any medical question comes up. A claimant with enough railroad service may find that Social Security generally does not use the railroad part of the work record, and a claimant with an address in Queens may live on Long Island geographically but be assigned to a different hearing office.
We handle applications, reconsideration, hearings and Appeals Council review, and our appeals page lays out each step after a denial. Our New York disability lawyer page covers statewide topics such as the state's SSI supplement.
We have no Long Island office. Consultations happen by phone or video, and our attorneys handle hearings from Tennessee by phone or video. We represent adults age 18 and older. We handle SSDI cases for people who receive VA benefits, but we do not handle VA claims or appeals. We do not take disability cessation or continuing disability review cases, or cases about back pay alone, and we refer federal court appeals to affiliated counsel.
Hearing office
The Central Islip Hearing Office and Its Six Field Offices
Social Security's hearing office locator lists the Long Island hearing office at 730 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722, with the telephone number (877) 379-8559 and office hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It serves the Freeport, Melville, Mineola, Patchogue, Riverhead and West Babylon field offices.
The office's name does not follow the island's geography. The locator assigns the Long Island City and Far Rockaway field offices to the Queens hearing office in the Joseph P. Addabbo Federal Building at 155-10 Jamaica Avenue, along with Flushing and Jamaica, so a claimant there is assigned to the Queens hearing office, not Central Islip. Our New York City disability lawyer page covers the city's offices.
Social Security's operations manual says hearing office jurisdiction is determined by the claimant's residence address, so a new mailing address alone is not the test. Our hearing office directory lists every office with its field offices. For an in-person or agency video hearing, the Notice of Hearing names the place, so go by that notice for your own case.
Railroad work
LIRR and Other Railroad Work in an SSDI Claim
With less railroad service, it counts the railroad earnings toward your Social Security credits.
The Long Island Rail Road's benefits overview for its represented employees lists Railroad Retirement Act retirement and disability annuities and Tier I and Tier II contributions. The Railroad Retirement Board keeps the record of railroad work, and how many years you have decides whether Social Security also counts that work for your credits.
Social Security's page for railroad workers says that with 10 or more years (120 months) of railroad work, or at least 5 years of railroad work that all fall after 1995, it does not use those railroad earnings for your Social Security credits or benefit amount. With less railroad service, it counts the railroad earnings toward your Social Security credits. Our SSDI claims page explains how credits affect eligibility.
The Railroad Retirement Board's publication on disability annuities says a total disability annuity has no minimum age and requires at least 10 years (120 months) of railroad service. An occupational disability annuity requires 10 years at age 60 or older, or 20 years at any age, and also requires a current connection to the railroad industry. An employee with 5 to 9 years of railroad service, at least 5 of them after 1995, may qualify under certain conditions for the total disability annuity only, and one condition is disability insured status under Social Security law. The Board, not Social Security, decides its own annuities. The Board's Central Islip field office at 490 Federal Plaza serves Nassau, Queens and Suffolk counties, (877) 772-5772. Tell us how many months of railroad work you have before anything is filed, so the claim goes to the right agency.
Local treatment records
Medical Records From Catholic Health, Stony Brook and the Northport VA
Each system on the island handles requests differently. List every hospital and your dates of care in each request, and keep a copy of what you sent.
Catholic Health: its medical records page offers MyChart, an online request portal and a printable Authorization for Release of Health Information, which goes to the facility or practice where you were last treated. Imaging requests go to the facility where the study was done. The page lists a number at each hospital for questions, including St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center at 516-562-6080, Good Samaritan University Hospital at 631-376-4058 and Mercy Hospital at 516-705-1310.
Stony Brook University Hospital: its records page takes a signed Authorization to Release by mail to the Health Information Management Department, 500 Commack Road, Suite 171, Commack, NY 11725, or by fax to 631-444-7738, and lists 631-444-1300 for help with a request. Stony Brook Southampton Hospital has its own records request process.
For these New York hospitals, Public Health Law section 18(2)(e) bars a provider from charging when a patient asks for records to support an application, claim or appeal for a government benefit or program, so a request you make yourself should say the records are for a Social Security disability claim.
Northport VA Medical Center: the release of information office is in Building 200 at 79 Middleville Road. It takes VA Form 10-5345a by mail or fax, or a signed written request with your Veteran Health Identification Card in person, and says mail and fax requests can take up to 20 business days. Our veterans page explains how a VA rating and an SSDI claim relate.
Hearings and deadlines
Hearing Format Choices and Appeal Deadlines for a Long Island Claim
To object to a phone or agency video hearing, after you receive the notice
30days
20 CFR 404.936(d), 416.1436(d)
After you request a hearing, Social Security sends a Notice of Ways to Attend a Hearing; its ways to attend page lists in person, telephone, agency video and online video from your own device. Under 20 CFR 404.936 and, for SSI, 20 CFR 416.1436, an objection to a phone hearing, an agency video hearing, or both is due in writing within 30 days after you receive that notice. Objecting to only one of those formats leaves Social Security free to schedule the other one, an in-person hearing or, if you agree, online video; objecting to both gets you an in-person hearing or, if you agree, online video. Online video is used only if you agree in writing, also within 30 days, and the agreement can be withdrawn before the hearing starts. A late objection or agreement needs good cause. A timely objection does not decide every case: if you move while the hearing request is pending, or in the other limited cases the rule lists, Social Security decides how you appear. A claimant in Riverhead or Patchogue who agrees to online video, and whose hearing is scheduled that way, attends from a private location of their choosing rather than at Federal Plaza.
Reconsideration must be requested in writing within 60 days after you receive a denial, under 20 CFR 404.909 for SSDI and 20 CFR 416.1409 for SSI, and a hearing request after a reconsideration denial has its own 60 days under 20 CFR 404.933 and 20 CFR 416.1433. Social Security treats a notice as received 5 days after its printed date unless you show it came later, under 20 CFR 404.901 and 20 CFR 416.1401. A late request needs a written request for more time and good cause, so call us the week a denial arrives.
Common questions
Long Island Disability Claim Questions
Is a Long Island City claim heard in Central Islip?
Social Security's hearing office locator assigns the Long Island City and Far Rockaway field offices to the Queens hearing office at 155-10 Jamaica Avenue. The Central Islip office serves the Freeport, Melville, Mineola, Patchogue, Riverhead and West Babylon field offices.
Does LIRR work count toward my Social Security credits?
It depends on your railroad months. With 10 or more years of railroad work, or 5 or more years that all fall after 1995, Social Security does not use those railroad earnings for your Social Security credits or benefit amount. With less, it counts them toward your credits.
Where is the Railroad Retirement Board office for Nassau and Suffolk?
The Board's field office locator lists 490 Federal Plaza in Central Islip as the office serving Nassau, Queens and Suffolk counties, open 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, at (877) 772-5772.
Where do I send a Stony Brook University Hospital records request?
Stony Brook's records page gives the Health Information Management Department at 500 Commack Road, Suite 171, Commack, NY 11725, and fax 631-444-7738. The request goes on its Authorization to Release form.
Which Catholic Health hospital gets my records authorization?
Catholic Health's records page says to send the authorization to the facility or practice where you were last treated, and imaging requests to the facility where the study was done. If you were treated at more than one Catholic Health hospital, call the number the records page lists for each one to confirm where its request should go.
Discuss your claim
Go Over Your Long Island Claim With Us
Have your latest Social Security notice, the field office named on your letters and any months of railroad work in front of you. We will explain where the claim stands and the next deadline by phone or video.