CSCS: Council of Senior Centers and Services of NYC, Inc.

Forest Hills / Rego Park Times

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Publication & Publisher: Forest Hills / Rego Park Times

Photo by Kathryn Kirk

(Brooklyn) Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the Council of Senior Centers and Services held an emergency meeting at Brooklyn Borough Hall on March 4 to discuss Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposed cuts to Title XX and the possible closing of 31 senior centers in Brooklyn and more than three times that number citywide, affecting more than 8,000 seniors in New York City.

Also in attendance were Igal Jellinek, executive director of the Council of Senior Centers and Services, as well as elected officials, advocates and seniors from throughout the borough.

"Long before I was old enough to use one, I was the president of a senior center from 1973 to 1978," said Markowitz, "and for the past 35 years, I have visited hundreds of these centers. So I know firsthand the central role they play in seniors' lives.

"For many seniors, their children have moved away, and the senior center becomes a surrogate family," added Markowitz. "For them, the 'social network' isn't about Facebook or Twitter-it's about the people they meet, socialize and interact with at the neighborhood senior center."

If the proposed cuts go through, centers could begin shutting down as early as April 1.