Age Justice
City Council Gearing Up to Combat Age Discrimination
Jarrett Murphy |
A suite of new laws will aim to increase awareness, strengthen enforcement and coordinate services for seniors looking to stay in or rejoin the workforce.
A suite of new laws will aim to increase awareness, strengthen enforcement and coordinate services for seniors looking to stay in or rejoin the workforce.
The de Blasio administration has no schedule for reopening the centers, and it seems likely the centers will not offer in-person services until 2021.
The 2021 left out $15 million in previously promised money, and advocates are just now getting a look at what the reduced funds will mean.
Providers expressed frustration with the Department For The Aging (DFTA) and the mayor’s office, who they say made abrupt changes with little input from the aging services sector.
New enrollees in NYC’s home-delivered meals program for seniors are being diverted to the city’s emergency food program—which advocates say doesn’t deliver the same quality or support.
Overall, the budget for the Department for The Aging will grow 13 percent in 2020 from the previous year, reaching $411 million.
We asked 26 senior citizens at three centers around the city what they think are the best and worst parts about getting older in the five boroughs. Some of the answers were not what we were expecting to hear.
In this year’s budget process, advocates have elevated two asks: one for $20 million in additional senior-center meals funding, and another for $15 million for delivered meals.
The commissioner of the city’s Department for the Aging writes: ‘One thing is clear: We share the same unwavering commitment to supporting older New Yorkers as they age in place with dignity.’
‘At less than one-half of 1 percent of the city’s overall budget, the Department for the Aging has long struggled to receive the financial support it requires to meet its mission of ensuring the ‘the dignity and quality of life of diverse older adults.”