Lawmakers and town officials are asking the Archdiocese of New York to reconsider merging two Catholic churches.

The churches in question are Saint Patick's Church of Highland Mills and Sacred Heart of Monroe.

State Sen. James Skoufis and other officials wrote a letter to Cardinal Timothy Dolan to say the closure of Saint Patrick's would leave a void in the spiritual and cultural lives of residents.

They say the best solution would be to have a priest come to Saint Patrick's and not have hundreds of parishioners go to Sacred Heart of Monroe instead.

They also say traffic conditions would create safety concerns in the community.