Brooklyn – Councilman David G. Greenfield, Chair of the New York City Council Senior Center Subcommittee, and New York City Department for the Aging Commissioner Lilliam Barrios-Paoli met with lawmakers in Albany today to fight senior center closings throughout New York City. Councilman Greenfield and Commissioner Barrios-Paoli met with members of the New York State Assembly and Senate to advocate on behalf of the 8,000 seniors whose lives will be drastically altered by the proposed closing of 105 senior centers citywide. The loss of $27 million in Title XX funding means that nearly half of the city’s centers, which serve thousands of meals daily to seniors living in poverty, will be forced to close.
“Senior centers are a lifeline for older New Yorkers across the city,” said Councilman Greenfield. “I believe that Commissioner Barrios-Paoli and I were successful in explaining in today’s meetings that without Title XX funding, we will irreversibly damage senior services in New York City. With the elder population in the city growing exponentially, the Governor’s proposed elimination of $27 million in funding for senior centers is not just unthinkable, but unwise. The members of the Senate and Assembly we met with today were in complete agreement and are supportive of our efforts to restore these funds to where they rightfully belong: in senior centers.”
Councilman Greenfield’s trip to Albany comes just days after his Subcommittee on Senior Centers held a joint hearing with the New York City Council’s Committee on Health, analyzing the nutritional value of meals served at senior centers and how many older New Yorkers rely on the one meal a day from these centers as their main sustenance. The hearing explored whether centers are able to meet the dietary needs of seniors on their ever-dwindling budgets, and the testimony from providers and advocates was bleak at best. One center disclosed that they are feeding seniors on just over $1.70 a day, while most centers are spending an average of $2.25 per meal.
“The facts are difficult to hear, but we can’t ignore the tough reality facing our aging population any longer,” noted Councilman Greenfield. “Half of New York City’s seniors make less than $10,000 a year and the Governor’s budget would leave these impoverished seniors without the array of vital services senior centers provide. When dealing with budget cuts every choice seems tough, but for many of our seniors there is no choice at all: they can go to their local senior center for a meal, or they can starve. The centers that would remain after these draconian cuts will, unfortunately, not be able to serve seniors from former centers. The burden is on Albany to restore Title XX funding. With the support of our state legislators, I am hopeful that the funding for these centers will be restored,” concluded Councilman Greenfield.
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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One Response
THE CENTERS ARE NOT ONLY FOR LOW INCOME OR POOR ELDERLY. THEY ARE ALSO FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN WELL AFFORD TO PAY FOR THE FOOD AND SERVICES PROVIDED. WHY SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT PROVIDE SUCH SERVICES?