Syracuse – New York State Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli (D-120th) announced Assembly passage of legislation that extends the New York Telecommunications Relay Service Center’s provisional expiration date from June 1, 2008 to June 1, 2013 (A.11361).

This is a necessary extension to prevent the Center from closing down operations on Erie Boulevard. Without the extension, the New York Telecommunications Relay Service Center may be moved to another location or shut down completely, eliminating 200 jobs.

“The New York Telecommunications Relay Service Center provides Telephone – Typewriter (TTY) services to people with profound hearing disabilities or deafness,” Magnarelli said. “This service allows a hearing disabled person to communicate with friends, family and businesses by telephone.”

The Center connects between both parties on a telephone line and an operator reads the typed TTY message to the hearing enabled person while typing out the conversation to the hearing impaired person.