New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement today concerning the announcement that City Hall and the Department for the Aging (DFTA) plan to withdraw their Request for Proposal (RFP) for Congregate Programs for Older Adults:

“The withdrawal of this misguided plan to restructure senior centers is good news for the city’s aging population. This proves that the voices of seniors across this city count for something. City Hall has finally listened, instead of digging in its heels and moving forward with an ill-considered plan.

While it is necessary for the City to support healthy aging for all our seniors, it is clear that a plan that threatened up to 80 senior centers with closure was neither wise nor well thought-out. Seniors across the city panicked when they realized their services and social networks were threatened.

Given current financial circumstances, the City should now focus on preserving current service levels for senior centers and programs, as well as consider additional partnerships that would improve services and also reduce the burden on the community-based providers.

For the sake of our seniors and the committed 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 more frail, precede any alteration to DFTA programming.”

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

Last week, Thompson launched a petition drive to insist that City Hall and DFTA pull the RFP without delay and preserve senior services at current levels.

In 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.

Earlier this month, 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 recently attended a forum sponsored by New York State Senator Eric Adams and harshly criticized City Hall and the Department for the Aging for moving ahead with its consolidation of senior centers and the elimination of six funding streams in DFTA’s budget.

Thompson’s comments, letters, recommendations, and testimony can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.

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