Photo credit: Marla Maritzer

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. holds a news conference to launch a petition drive to stop City Hall and the Department for the Aging (DFTA) from moving forward with a Request for Proposals (RFP) to restructure senior centers on December 11, 2008. Pictured (l to r) are: New York State Assembly Member Audrey Pheffer; New York City Council Member Vincent Gentile; Thompson; New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz; New York State Assembly Member-elect Grace Meng; and, Bobbie Sackman, Director, Public Policy, Council of Senior Centers and Services.

Sign the petition
Download the petition

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today launched a petition drive and called on City Hall and the Department for the Aging (DFTA) to withdraw the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Congregate Programs for Older Adults.

“I demand that City Hall and DFTA immediately withdraw their misguided plan to restructure senior centers,” Thompson said. “I have launched this petition drive to mobilize concerned citizens who want an outlet to express their disapproval of this plan.”

Thompson was joined by elected officials, seniors, and advocates at a news conference today to assert that City Hall and DFTA should pull the RFP without delay and preserve senior services at current levels.

“Today we are raising our voices to say that the City must stop this plan to fundamentally tear apart a network of centers and services that serve as a vital safety net for seniors,” Thompson said. “This is no modernization, it’s a major consolidation. Shame on City Hall for moving ahead with these cuts.”

“We stand proudly with Comptroller Bill Thompson and appreciate his support in his in asking Mayor Bloomberg to withdraw the senior centers RFP,” said Bobbie Sackman, Executive Director, Council of Senior Centers and Services of NYC. “Seniors across the city have expressed their opposition.  We are asking the mayor to listen to these seniors.”

To sign or download copies of the petition, visit www.comptroller.nyc.gov.

“The City wants to create larger super centers with more services for younger, more active and mobile retirees,” Thompson added. “While that’s a fine idea in theory, the plan would come at the expense of older, more frail seniors who may not be able to simply pick up and move to a new senior center across town.”

Thompson stressed that it is important to upgrade and modernize services to seniors, but given current financial circumstances, the City should focus on preserving current service levels.

“The budget is a reflection of our values and priorities as a city, and today’s downturn must not be used as an excuse for our City to avoid our duty, indeed our responsibility,  to help New York City seniors to live their lives in comfort and dignity,” Thompson said.

Thompson has consistently spoken out against plans to shutter centers and curb services for seniors.

Last March, Thompson submitted comments on the RFP Concept Paper and expressed concern that DFTA was preparing to close centers based on an obsolete method of showing that a center was “underutilized” based on the number of meals it served per day.

At the same time, Thompson stood with senior advocates and other elected officials to call on DFTA to delay plans to release the RFP by at least six months to develop a more considered modernization approach. While the agency did delay the release of the RFP, it failed to implement changes that would address the concerns raised by Thompson and others.

More recently, Thompson authored a letter to DFTA Commissioner Edwin Mendez-Santiago criticizing the RFP, which would implement sweeping changes to the City’s current senior center system while leaving many significant questions about the redesign unanswered. 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 plans.

Last week Thompson submitted testimony to 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 comments, letters, recommendations, and testimony can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.

###