New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. speaks at the Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS) 20th Annual Conference on Aging in Manhattan on January 29, 2009. Pictured (left to right) are: Igal Jellinek, Executive Director, CSCS; Suleika Cabrera Drinane, Conference Co-Chair; Thompson; Donna Corrado, Conference Co-Chair; Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Commissioner, New York City Department for the Aging; William J. Dionne, President, CSCS; and, Robert B. Blancato, President, Matz, Blancato & Associates, Inc. Photo credit: Marla Maritzer.

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. addressed nearly 500 New York City-based workers in the aging services network at the Council of Senior Centers and Services 20th Annual Conference on Aging in Manhattan today.

“Over the last year, I have worked to protect our city’s senior centers because they are a lifeline for many people, particularly in lower-income, immigrant communities and communities of color,” Thompson said. “Seniors rely on their centers for more than a meal. The centers provide social and emotional support, which motivates many seniors to leave the isolation of their homes and interact with others.”

“Seniors are one of our city’s most vulnerable and valuable populations, and we cannot abandon them when they need us most,” Thompson added, “because in the end, we have a responsibility to look after the people who have built our city and made it what it is today.”

Photos of Thompson at the conference – which was entitled “The Power of Aging: Uncovering the Opportunities in Change – can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov.

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