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

Times Newsweekly

City Pols Want State To Provide For Srs.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

By Robert Pozarycki

Publication & Publisher: Times Newsweekly

(photo: Joseph Epstein)
Amid ongoing efforts to fight proposed state
budget cuts that could force its closure, the
Woodhaven- Richmond Hill Senior Center was
formally opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony
last Friday, Mar. 11. Elected officials and
attendees at the event used the occasion to call
on lawmakers to scrap a planned $25 million
cutback that may result in the closure of the
facility as well as over 100 other senior centers
across the city. Among those in attendance for
the event, as shown in the photo, were Queens
Borough President Helen Marshall, City Council
members Karen Koslowitz and Eric Ulrich, State
Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Assemblyman Mike
Miller, Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens
CEO Robert Siebel, Msgr. Alfredo LoPinto of the
Diocese of Brooklyn, Catholic Charities Vice
President of Older Adult Services Judith Kleve
and Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center
Director Eleanor Errante.

Local elected officials rallied with seniors last
Friday at the Queensbridge Riis Senior Center in
Long Island City to protest the proposed closure
of the senior center. Shown from left to right are
Executive Director of Riis Settlement Bill Newlin,
City Council Member Jessica Lappin, who chairs
the Committee on Aging; State Sen. Michael
Gianaris; City Council Member Jimmy Van
Bramer; Diane Ballek, a representative of
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan; and East
River Development Alliance President/ Founder
Bishop Mitchell Taylor.

Assemblywoman Marge Markey joined Senior
Maspeth Senior Center Director Maria Dixon and
the facility’s members last Friday, Mar. 11, to
announce that the Assembly has adopted a
budget bill that includes funding to save operations
at their center and others in New York City.

The Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center opened its doors to the public with a grand ceremony last Friday, Mar. 11—but the facility may be forced to close up shop by the end of spring.

Sharing a storefront with the Woodhaven/Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps at 78-15 Jamaica Ave., the facility is on a list of more than 100 senior centers across the city—including 22 in Queens— considered to be in danger of closure due to proposed reductions in Title XX funds distributed by the state.

With that in mind, the grand opening of the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center last Friday included not only a ribbon-cutting ceremony but also a rally by elected officials, senior advocates and elderly residents who called on state lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to scrap any proposed cuts for senior services.

Among those on hand for the event were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, Assemblyman Mike Miller and City Council Members Elizabeth Crowley, Karen Koslowitz and Eric Ulrich—who almembers located a combined $65,000 toward the renovation of the senior center— along with representatives of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, the facility’s operator.

Last year, according to a statement released by Marshall, local lawmakers and the Woodhaven/Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps reached a deal with Catholic Charities to open a senior center at the site, replacing a facility that had been temporarily located in Richmond Hill. In addition to providing senior services, the agreement also ensured that the ambulance corps—which experienced financial difficulties—had an additional revenue source.

The center and other facilities for elderly New Yorkers on the endangered list published by the Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City receive federal funding under the Title XX program that is distributed to them by the state. As previously reported, Governor Cuomo proposed a $25 million reduction in funding for elderly services in New York State as part of cost-cutting measures to close the Empire State’s $10 billion budget deficit.

Without that funding, senior advocates and elected officials said, the senior centers on the endangered list would have no choice but to close their doors as early as April. Marshall noted that an additional six senior centers in Queens would also be forced to shut down “if discretionary money is not restored in the city’s budget to” her office.

“Opening the Woodhaven Senior Center at this new location has been a collaborative effort between Catholic Charities, many of our elected officials in Queens and our seniors,” said Robert Siebel, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities, last Friday. “Everyone has been waiting a long time for this, especially our seniors. And they deserve to join in celebrating this new location. We truly hope for a positive outcome so that all of our seniors can continue to have a place where they feel at home.”

Two of the area’s representatives in state government, Addabbo and Miller, issued statements in recent days condemning any plans to close senior centers. Addabbo said that he would continue to lobby fellow law- makers and the governor in the hope of scrapping the proposed cutbacks.

“Our growing senior population has enough to worry about these days, and I believe it was wrong for the mayor to release the list of possible senior center closures and use our seniors as tools of the budget negotiations with the state,” Addabbo stated. “Our senior centers do not have to close, regardless of the amount of money the city receives from the state budget. If the city collects the outstanding liens and judgments owed to it and alters its outside contracting practices, it would have more than enough money to keep the senior centers open.”

“By simply utilizing our city workers more efficiently, the realized savings would more than pay for the centers,” he added.

During last Friday’s opening and rally at the Woodhaven/Richmond Hill Senior Center, Miller announced that his office would launch a petition drive to collect 1,000 signatures of senior citizens around his district who are opposed to the cutback. The petitions will subsequently be presented to Governor Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“We must stop using our senior citizens as pawns in annual budget negotiations,” Miller said. “Every year it’s the same story. We have to cut our budgets and the senior centers are the first go. This is unacceptable. The money exists to keep these centers open. We are allowing millionaires and billionaires to avoid taxes, while the over-burdened, defenseless middle and working classes suffer. I urge everyone to sign this petition so we can go to the mayor and the governor with signatures from thousands of voters to tell them this will not stand. Our senior citizens deserve much better.”

‘A slap to the face of our seniors’

Elected officials also joined seniors at two Long Island City senior centers last Friday to call for the state to scrap the proposed funding cuts. City Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer and Jessica Lappin along with Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and State Sen. Michael Gianaris visited the Queensbridge Riis Settlement and Ravenswood senior citizens to speak out against the cuts and collect signatures for their own petitions condemning the reductions.

Joining the elected officials at the event were Bishop Mitchell Taylor, founder and president of the East River Development Alliance and Riis Settlement Executive Director Bill Newlin.

“These cuts are a slap to the face to our seniors,” said Van Bramer. “Ninety percent of individuals who use senior centers are below the poverty line and to close these centers would take away the core services that our seniors need to live happy and healthy lives. We cannot and will not balance the budget on the back of our seniors— we will fight to keep these doors open.”

“These cuts would obliterate senior centers and services in our city,” added Lappin, who chairs the City Council Committee on Aging. “Closing the doors to these centers would mean turning our backs on nearly 8,000 older New Yorkers. We’re simply not going to let that happen.”

“I am opposed to any budget cuts proposed by Mayor Bloomberg that would cause both Queensbridge and Ravenswood Senior Centers to close,” said Cathy Nolan. “I will continue to fight in Albany to help restore any cuts to senior services that where proposed by Governor Cuomo.”

“For so many seniors these centers serve as a crucial lifeline to the outside world,” Gianaris added. “While we are forced to cut costs during this difficult economic time, we must make the hard decisions in a way that minimizes the impact on the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Our seniors have done so much for us, the least we can do is make sure they have the ability to enjoy their golden years with respect and dignity.”

A glimmer of hope?

Last Friday, Assemblywoman Marge Markey announced that she would support the Assembly’s budget plan that excluded the proposed Title XX cutback.

The budget plan, which was adopted by the Assembly on Tuesday, Mar. 15, must be reconciled with similar proposals offered by the State Senate and Cuomo in forming the final state budget, which by law must be completed by Apr. 1.

“We can’t balance the state budget by cutting services to vulnerable citizens during this economic downturn,” Markey said in a statement. “Closing these centers would dramatically impact the lives of so many. Instead, we must protect those who have made lifelong contributions to our communities and continue providing them the services they need and deserve.”

“The governor proposes to redirect federal Title XX funding, often allocated to senior centers, to offset current state and local expenses for child welfare services,” the assemblywoman added. “Cutting senior centers completely out of Title XX funding would be devastating to the seniors who rely on them. Our proposal allows New York City to continue using the discretionary funding to support local senior centers and keep them open. This will ensure that thousands of seniors won’t lose essential services provided by the centers, including nutritious meals, health and wellness activities and socialization.”