On June 4, Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington) joined the New York National Guard, Long Island reservists and Iraq war veterans to announce the establishment of an $86 million state-of-the art Armed Forces Reserve Center in Farmingdale. The multi-use facility will be home to approximately 1,275 uniformed personnel and will serve as a central location for the mobilization of New York National Guard and Reserve forces in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack and as a facility for training, equipment storage and administration functions. Israel was joined by Col. Geoffrey Slack, the Operations Officer for the 42nd Infantry Division of the Army National Guard and Col. Michael Canders, the Commander of the 106th Rescue Wing on Long Island of the Air National Guard. Col. Canders is also the Commander of Joint Task Force Two, which is responsible for providing support to Nassau and Suffolk counties if activated by the governor in the event of an emergency situation.

"The Armed Forces Reserve Center will not only benefit our community in Farmingdale, but will also bolster the homeland security and emergency preparedness of Long Island as a region," explained Congressman Israel, who has been a leading voice on the need to increase National Guard equipment and staffing levels. "It's not a matter of if, but when, a hurricane may strike Long Island. A fully staffed and equipped National Guard is the difference between a smooth recovery and another New Orleans. The New York National Guard is critical to our homeland security and we need to ensure that they are equipped to respond to domestic terrorist attacks and natural disasters. I'm proud that much of the Guard's important work will be carried out right in Farmingdale."

"Thanks to the efforts of Congressman Israel, Long Island is gaining a state-of-the art Reserve Center that will also be home to New York National Guard forces," said Governor Elliot Spitzer. "When completed in 2010 the new facility will provide a base for National Guard units responding to emergencies in both Nassau and Suffolk counties and provide emergency shelter to hundreds of residents in the event of a snowstorm or hurricane."

"The Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center will provide a first rate facility that will allow our Army National Guard units to provide responsive support for our Long Island communities," said Major General Joseph Taluto Jr, Adjutant General for the State of New York. "This building will bring the National Guard on Long Island into the 21st century."

This past March, Congressman Israel joined Governor Spitzer and Major General Taluto in releasing a report on the staffing and equipment levels of the New York National Guard. While the guard has been asked to support more operations than ever before, it is only funded at 61 percent of its full-time requirements for staffing and at 41 percent of authorized equipment. Among other shortages, the Guard has only 35 percent of mission-critical transportation equipment and 19 percent of chemical detection equipment.

The Farmingdale Armed Forces Reserve Center will provide a central location for mobilization of guard and reserve forces in the event of an emergency or natural disaster and will be used by military reserve forces of the New York Army National Guard, U.S. Navy Reserve, U.S. Army Reserve and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

The $86 million, four-story, state-of-the-art center will contain administrative offices, storage space for military equipment, classrooms, conference rooms and training areas for the maintenance and operation of military equipment. The center will be over 224,000 square feet with 199,210 square feet of space in the main building and an attached 25,000 square foot maintenance facility with 10 bays. Construction of the project is expected to be complete by July 2010, with demolition of existing facilities occurring through June 2007.