New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. speaks at a community forum hosted by New York State Senator Eric Adams addressing the impact of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to eliminate six funding streams from the Department for the Aging on Monday, December 8, 2008. The forum was held at St. Gabriel’s Senior Center in Brooklyn.

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today harshly criticized City Hall and the Department for the Aging for moving ahead with its fundamental reorganization and consolidation of senior centers and services at a forum sponsored by New York State Senator Eric Adams.

“What are the City’s priorities?” Thompson asked at the forum, held at St. Gabriel’s Senior Center in Brooklyn. “Senior centers and services are now in crisis. We must all stand together to fight against these budget cuts and raise our voices to prevent the RFP from moving forward. Our seniors helped to make this city great, and shame on the City for moving forward with these cuts.”

To view Thompson’s remarks, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ97OnTVBog.

In a letter to DFTA Commissioner Edwin Mendez-Santiago last week, Thompson criticized DFTA for planning to implement sweeping changes to the City’s current senior center system while leaving many significant questions about the redesign unanswered.

“The RFP imposes a centralized, highly structured program design without regard to existing capacity or neighborhood needs,” Thompson said. “By imposing a rigid approach to modernization, the implementation of the program risks alienating seniors who depend on their center as an essential lifeline.”

Thompson also provided Commissioner Mendez-Santiago with a detailed list of funding and programmatic concerns which he believes must be addressed before DFTA moves ahead with its RFP.

Thompson also delivered testimony last week before the City Council Committee on the Aging in support of Intro 821-A, which would require 60-day notice before a DFTA-funded senior citizen center can close.

Thompson’s letter, list of concerns, and testimony can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov. 

Thompson stressed that the RFP is unclear as to whether DFTA’s new approach is adequate, stable, and allocated on a rational, equitable basis.

“If the questions raised in the attached document cannot be addressed thoroughly and in an adequate time frame, I urge you to withdraw the RFP at this time and reissue it at a future date with appropriate modifications,” Thompson wrote.

A survey of 61 senior centers throughout the city conducted by Comptroller Thompson’s office revealed that most centers have a long way to go before the RFP’s mandates can be fulfilled. For example, while 90 percent of centers provide blood pressure screening, many fewer screen for other age-related conditions, such as hearing loss, diabetes, and glaucoma.

“For the sake of our seniors as well as the providers who serve them, it is essential that a meaningful dialogue focused on how to meet the needs of all seniors, younger and older, able bodied and frail, precede any alteration to DFTA programming,” Thompson added.

Thompson noted that approximately $ 20 million of the $117million total funding in the RFP is based upon discretionary funds from the Borough Presidents and City Council -- money which may not be available on a consistent basis. In his testimony before the City Council, Thompson stressed that the RFP imposes costly new requirements that may exhaust the available funding, leaving some centers without funds to continue operating.

“Consequently, proposers will likely need the maximum allowable $500,000 to operate neighborhood centers and $1 million for Senior Hubs to satisfy DFTA’s new requirements,” Thompson said. “If all centers propose at the maximum allocation, many of the 329 centers will have to close.  DFTA itself projects that up to 89 centers could be shuttered.”

Additionally, Thompson expressed concern over DFTA’s ability to ensure a smooth roll-out of the new program. Citing DFTA’s previous track record of replacing daily hot Meals-on-Wheels programs with a semi-weekly frozen meal delivery, Thompson urged the agency to implement changes slowly in order to fine tune its approach.

“As with any change in policy there are ‘winners’ and ‘losers,’” Thompson said. “At all costs, we must ensure that our neediest seniors are not among the losers. If smaller, community-based centers are forced to close, what will become of the seniors who rely on them for meals, socialization, and assistance?”

Earlier this year, Thompson joined with senior advocates and other elected officials to challenge DFTA’s plans to revise service delivery to seniors, and urged the agency not to close senior centers as a result of any reorganization. As a result, Mayor Bloomberg announced that the City would slow its efforts to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP).

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