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GRACE MENG
Assemblywoman 22nd District
Queens County

PRESS RELEASE Contact: Linda Sun

For Immediate Release (917) 517-0805
March 4, 2011 lsun0415@gmail.com

Assemblywoman Grace Meng and NYS Senator Toby Ann Stavisky Blast Plan to
Close Senior Centers

Flushing, NY – Assemblywoman Grace Meng and Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, both members of the
Aging Committee, are furious over 100 senior centers that are being closed as a result of Governor
Cuomo’s proposed budget cuts to Title XX senior center funds – 22 senior centers are being closed in
Queens. The list of proposed center closings was released by Mayor Bloomberg’s office yesterday.
This unconscionable decision was made in spite of their work to save senior centers from Title XX
funding cuts.

It is estimated that every day, about 29,000 older New Yorkers visit senior centers. The loss of state
funding would be devastating as the elderly have long depended on the centers for meals, friendship
and a multitude of other services. The city recently released an analysis of poverty rates among
different groups and found that older New Yorkers are the city’s poorest population. In a year of
difficult choices and tough decisions, this proposal is an unusually painful and disproportionate cut to
one of the most vulnerable populations.

Assemblywoman Meng stated, “With at least 15 senior centers in my district and the zip code 11355
having one of the highest senior populations in New York State, I know firsthand how much our senior
citizens depend on the services provided by the centers. I am fully aware that painful choices have to
be made this year but our senior citizens are our community’s most prized possession; we cannot and
must not deprive thousands of seniors of meals, friendship, and other essential programs. Alternatives
can be found and my colleagues and I will do everything we can to make sure this proposal is
overturned.”

“These cuts are unconscionable and will hurt our most vulnerable seniors,” said Senator Stavisky.
“For many seniors, these centers are their lifeline, providing for hot meals, socializing, exercise and
educational programs. Without them, senior citizens will be further marginalized and isolated. We
cannot afford to cut services to this population because they need the help, and because once these cuts
are implemented they will never be reinstated; centers that are shuttered will never reopen.”
“I stand here today with my colleagues in government to voice my strongest opposition to the closing
of the Latimer Gardens Senior Program,” said Councilmember Peter Koo. “Clearly this essential
program provides a valuable service to the residents of Flushing. In a City Budget that is 63 billion
dollars, we must focus on finding all the waste and mismanagement before closing essential city
services like senior centers. I am committed to working hand-in-hand with all of my colleagues to help
find the resources to keep this center open and available to those who deserve to enjoy their Golden
Years.”

“I believe that similar to Governor Cuomo not releasing the specific prisons proposed to be closed,
Mayor Bloomberg did not have to release the specific senior centers to close,” said NYS Senator
Joseph Addabbo. “Our seniors have enough to be concerned about these days and now having to be
victimized by this budget negotiation ploy is not necessary. As a member of the Senate Aging
Committee, I intend to continue my efforts in protecting senior services and funding throughout the
current budget process.”

“The plan to close so many senior centers, especially during these tough economic times, will be
devastating,” said Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn. “Many of our seniors rely on these centers for
companionship, exercise, social service assistance and a hot meal, which in many cases is the only
meal some seniors are having each day. To eliminate such a large number of safe havens for our
seniors will hurt some of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

"The closure of senior centers and the reduction of services in Queens would have a devastating impact
not only on the seniors that live in my district, but seniors who reside throughout the Borough", said
Assemblyman David I. Weprin. "It is important for all of our seniors to continue to have a ‘center’
they can count on to receive nutritional meals, social work support and recreational programs."
"At a time when we are facing cuts to long-term care for the elderly due to the budget deficit, the
Governor's proposal would further exacerbate the problem by isolating seniors in their homes without
social interaction, meals, and activities,” said Assemblyman Edward C. Braunstein. “I will join
together with my colleagues in the Assembly to fight against this short-sighted proposal which would
be devastating to my elderly constituents who utilize the outstanding services offered by Selfhelp
Clearview Senior Center."
"Seniors deserve better than to be pawns in the state's and city's budget battle," said Assemblyman
Rory Lancman. "The money necessary to keep these centers open is minuscule in the context of the
overall state and city budget, and we need to stop playing politics with seniors' needs."
“Once again seniors have been placed on the chopping block, only this time a different Governor is
holding the ax,” said Assembly Member Michael G. Miller, who serves on the Assembly’s Aging
Committee. “My Assembly colleagues and I fought the Title XX shell game last year, and won a
major victory on behalf our seniors. I will fight this again this year, and for however many years this
same bad policy is proposed. We simply don’t need to balance the budgets on the backs of our
seniors.”
“Senior centers are an invaluable lifesaving resource that need to be protected in our communities,”
said Councilmember Mark Weprin.
“Closing senior centers is a matter of life and death, plain and simple,” said Councilmember Karen
Koslowitz. “Seniors rely on these centers for companionship, nutrition and mental and physical health.
In my district and the nearby district two Glatt Kosher centers are on the chopping block. Depriving
seniors of key services is unconscionable. Not even the old saying ‘penny wise and pound foolish’
fits, as we can’t put a short term price on someone’s life. I will do everything in my power to stop
these cuts and will be in Albany next week, with many of my council colleagues, to deliver this
message loud and clear.”

“Selfhelp’s five senior centers serve thousands of seniors in Queens. The proposed loss of Title XX
funding will have a detrimental affect on our clients’ emotional and physical well being. We also
worry about the negative affects from increased social isolation, as our frail elderly clients will have
difficulty accessing the few remaining senior centers due to geographic dispersion and longer and more
complicated travel. Everyday our clients greatly benefit from the nutritious meals, case management
services, wellness and exercise activities, hands on experience with innovative technology, and general
social interaction that Senior Centers offer,” said Leo Asen, Vice President, Senior Communities,
Selfhelp Community Services, Inc.

“If 105 senior centers close, up to 10,000 seniors will lose their centers citywide. That means 2.5
million fewer nutritious meals will be served to the city’s elderly,” said Bobbie Sackman, director of
public policy at the Council of Senior Centers and Services of NYC. “Thousands of health and
wellness classes and opportunities to socialize will be cut. Seniors will be forced to go home and stay
home. We are urging Governor Cuomo to withdraw this damaging budget cut.”

"It's a disgrace to do this to seniors who've worked their whole lives,” said Susan Rabinowicz, director
of Young Israel of Forest Hills Senior League. “These seniors are going to suffer. This is their meal
for the day, this is their socialization. And they can't just go anywhere: I have seniors who don't go to
other centers because they're not Glatt kosher."

“It is beyond belief and absolutely despicable that the seniors of this city are being treated with such
disregard,” said Angella King, Director of the Pomonok Senior Center. “The members of Pomonok
Senior Center were absolutely devastated to learn that the center they attend daily will be closed in just
a few months. It is obvious that the Mayor and The NYC Department for the Aging do not realize that
Senior Centers are about much more that the number of meals we serve.”

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