THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
March 9, 2010

City Council and Senior Advocates Launch “Save Our Centers” Campaign
Seek to avert closure of 110 senior centers in city

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Aging Committee Chair Jessica Lappin, and State and Federal Legislation Committee Chair Helen Diane Foster joined with senior citizens and advocates from across the city today to announce the launch of the Save Our Centers campaign to protect New York City’s senior centers.  The campaign will rally seniors in all five boroughs to oppose a proposed cut in Governor Paterson’s budget that will lead to as many as a third of the city’s senior centers being shuttered.

In his budget, the Governor proposed redirecting $25.2 million in federal Title XX (20) funds away from the city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA) – effectively cutting over a quarter of DFTA’s entire budget for senior centers.  A cut that severe will result in the city being forced between 80 and 110 senior centers across the five boroughs.  With the closing of those centers as many as 5,500 seniors will lose the vital services those centers provide.
 
The Save Our Centers campaign will organize and rally New York’s seniors to restore these funds.  The campaign will mobilize seniors to contact the Governor’s office and their state legislators to urge them not to enact these drastic cuts.

“Services don’t get much more core than this.  We aren’t tinkering at the margins.  These cuts would literally starve thousands of poor seniors,” Chair Lappin said.  “In addition to providing hot meals, these centers provide care, companionship, and case management to some of our neediest New Yorkers.  Our state legislators simply cannot approve this cut.”

“The City Council has a proven record of success when it comes to defending our city’s senior centers,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn.  “Older New Yorkers depend on senior centers as a lifeline, especially during this recession.  We’re urging everyone to call their state legislators and the Governor’s office to let them know these cuts are unacceptable.  We won’t allow Albany to turn its back on our seniors.”
 
“It's disheartening to think that New York State is trying to balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens ... our seniors.  These cuts are unacceptable and we will fight to make sure they are not implemented,” Council Member Foster said.

“This is the generation that guided New York through the 20th century. They have watched this city weather recessions – even depressions – and we are not going stand by while the senior centers they rely on are attacked,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer.  “Albany has tried to sneak these cuts in under the guise of routine budgetary shuffling. With $25 million in funding and as many as 100 senior centers on the line, these vital services deserve better than death by fine print.”
 
“The tsunami of city and state cuts raining down on senior centers and other services funded through the Department for the Aging will close up to 110 senior centers and cripple the funding of the remaining senior centers,” said Bobbie Sackman, Director of Public Policy for the Council of Senior Centers and Services.  “CSCS and hundreds of seniors are proud to stand today with Speaker Christine Quinn and Aging Committee Chair, Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, to say no to these cuts. We call on city and state leaders to work to rescind these cuts. City and state budget deficits cannot be filled on the backs of senior citizens.”

“Overwhelmingly, our members tell us that they want to remain living in their home and communities as they age,” said Lois Aronstein, AARP New York State Director.  “Senior centers often serve as a virtual lifeline between seniors their communities offering meals, contact, and access to services that allow them to continue living at home and out of expensive institutional care.”

“We are nine short months away from the impending surge of baby boomers who are turning 65 in 2011. This soon-to-be senior population will create an unprecedented demand on the current aging service delivery system. Now is a time for fortifying and building the infrastructure needed to support the seniors in our society,” said Susan Stamler, Director of Policy and Advocacy for United Neighborhood Houses.  “The changes to the Title XX funding, if enacted, will gravely compromise the current senior center infrastructure and thwart innovative senior programming in New York City – making it only harder to support older adults in their desires to age in place, in the communities they are most attached to, comfortable in and have helped shape over the years.  The Governor’s proposed changes to Title XX funding allocations must be stopped.”

“Many elderly New Yorkers were left reeling by the economic downturn. But even during these difficult times seniors can still depend on their neighborhood senior center for a nutritious meal, for important health and wellness services, and as a safe place to get together and socialize with friends,” said Leo Aspen, Vice President, Senior Communities, Selfhelp Community Services, Inc.  “If the Title XX funding for senior centers is eliminated then Selfhelp's six senior centers, which serve many thousands of seniors in Queens, will face a funding loss of $90,000 per center – further compounding recent budget cuts. This would deprive needy seniors of essential meals, critical health and wellness services and access to a safe place where they can get together with people who care about them.  Seniors have told us how important their senior centers are to them and are concerned about where they will go if there were no senior centers.”

“Many older adults rely on senior centers for nutrition, health promotion, socialization and recreation.  These services help our seniors live independently and maximize opportunities to live at home rather than more costly institutional settings.  The State's proposal to re-direct Title XX funding will undermine the City's ability to provide for its senior citizens when there is more need than ever.  We urge the State to find other cost savings to balance its budget,” said Cara Berkowitz, the Director of City and Public Affairs for the UJA Federation of New York.

“FPWA urges the Governor and New York State Legislature to preserve the flexibility of Title XX funding so that needed resources can continue to flow to neighborhood-based senior centers.   Many low-income elderly rely heavily on these neighborhood-based centers where they receive a nutritious meal, socialize and participate in a variety of activities within their own communities.  With the growth of the elderly population on the rise, our senior centers need to be preserved now more than ever,” said Kathy Fitzgibbons, Senior Policy Analyst from the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA).

Seniors are the fastest growing demographic group in New York City and the Department of Health recently announced that New Yorkers’ life expectancy has reached a record high. 

Each year, elderly New Yorkers go to the city’s senior centers for meals and other services such as case management, legal services, recreational and social activities, transportation, escort and shopping services, counseling, and benefit assistance.  According to a survey conducted by the Council of Senior Centers and Services, the average age of a senior center participant is 77, with approximately 50% having incomes under $10,000. Photo by William Alatriste