Cumbo and City Councillors Oppose Mayor’s Proposed Cuts to Senior Clubs

BROWNSVILLE – Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2020 executive budget calls for cuts to senior clubs, including the consolidation of what are considered underutilized NYCHA senior clubs, in a move that Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo vowed to “fight tooth and nail”.

Cumbo’s remarks followed Tuesday’s City Council budget hearing for the Committee on Aging, in which the city’s proposal to close five Department for the Aging (DFTA) senior clubs and seven NYCHA senior clubs, and move the remaining seven NYCHA clubs under purview of DFTA, was reviewed. Five of the 12 proposed closures are located in Brooklyn. The city believes the closures would be justified by poor attendance, safety issues, and lack of accessibility for disabled persons, and cited a savings of $885,000 if executed. The proposal was met with backlash from multiple committee members, including chair Margaret Chin.

Joining Cumbo and Chin in dissent against the proposed closures are Adrienne Adams, Diana Ayala, Ruben Diaz, Daniel Dromm, Vanessa Gibson, and Peter Koo. Adams said it looked like the city was “throwing away” its senior citizens.

Chin had a lot of questions for the de Blasio administration. “First and foremost, why did City Hall fail to reach out to the Council Members with these clubs in their districts or the seniors who use them? What criteria did they use to determine these spaces needed to be shutdown? Why was there no effort to repair these clubs?” she said. “I will be pushing the administration for answers to these questions as we work to build a New York City that allows our seniors to age in it.”

According to a DFTA spokesperson, all 12 of the clubs proposed for closure have one or more senior centers within three quarters of a mile of their location, and in some cases only one or two blocks away. The proposed Brooklyn closures are Brownsville, Cypress Hills, Glenmore Plaza, Hughes Apartments, and Sumner clubs. DFTA would provide accessible transportation free of charge.

Cumbo remains unconvinced of the proposed cuts. “Slashing benefits of any sort in unconscionable,” said a spokesperson for Cumbo. “Our seniors have urgent needs.”

If the proposed closures are enacted, DFTA will be meeting with the seniors directly and working with senior center staff to ensure that seniors are welcomed to new, supportive, and culturally competent environments, said a DFTA spokesperson.

“We will be recognizing and supporting our seniors with regular events, such as for Mothers Day, and a districtwide event next week,” said a spokesperson for Cumbo. It’s true – on Wednesday, May 15, Cumbo, along with Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, and Assembly Member Walter T. Mosley will host a senior appreciation brunch at Ingersoll Community Center.

As for next steps, the mayor and City Council will negotiate the budget until late June, before the next fiscal year begins in July.