Mendez-Santiago envisions "centers of wellness and vitality" for seniors in the future. He also wants to offer choices between hot meals and frozen meals, or vegetarian and diabetic meals if needed...City Department for the Aging Commissioner Edwin Mendez-Santiago denied that the city is planning to close senior centers. "I just want you to understand that we have everything on the table," he told the Queens Borough Cabinet. He asked for support to modernize the department at the March cabinet meeting.
Mendez-Santiago said the City Council and the mayor will continue to negotiate until the final budget is adopted in June. "I'm limited by budget," he admitted. DFTA has an annual budget of $94 million to run 326 senior centers in the city.
Mendez-Santiago envisions "centers of wellness and vitality" for seniors in the future. He also wants to offer choices between hot meals and frozen meals, or vegetarian and diabetic meals if needed, a program DFTA currently operates in The Bronx.
But amid news Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered more budget cuts of 3 percent beginning July 1 on top of previously ordered cuts of about 7 percent, Gary Giordano, district manager of Community Board 5, asked about the reductions.
Mendez-Santiago said DFTA was immediately cut 3 percent, or $3.5 million that will be absorbed internally and not affect senior centers. On July 1, another 3 percent cut of $5.5 million is scheduled. He was not yet aware of the new 3 percent cut at the time.
"Should we have less senior centers that are stronger and better?" he asked, indicating that fewer centers, each having a larger operating budget, could offer more services.
"With all due respect, are you saying you're closing senior centers?" asked Frank Gulluscio, district manager of Community Board 6 and an announced candidate for City Council.
"That's not what I said," replied Mendez-Santiago.
"The word is out to the senior population," Gulluscio said, "They're all concerned about closing, it's a real concern."
Bloomberg will end his tenure as mayor of New York on Jan. 1, 2010, but the year 2030 seems to keep cropping up. Last year, in PlaNYC, the Mayor set specific goals for housing, environment and transportation by 2030.
Mendez-Santiago is also focused on 2030.
He told Borough President Helen Marshall that the number of older New Yorkers (age 60 and over) will almost double (46 percent) over the next 25 years, rising from 1.3 million to 1.84 million in 2030 and making them the fastest growing demographic.
He also reported that by 2030, "diversity of older New Yorkers will change dramatically in terms of race/ethnicity, education, financial status, country of birth/cultural heritage, consumer preferences, sexual orientation and disability".
"I've been a social worker, working with older adults for more than 30 years," Mendez-Santiago said. "A 70-year-old today is much different. They are more active and vibrant. Growth in the city's elderly is going to challenge us if we don't amend our programs."
Historically, DFTA has used the number of meals served to measure senior center utilization. DFTA has also defined senior centers operating at less than 90 percent capacity as being "underutilized".
In fiscal year 2007, 44 percent of DFTA-funded senior centers were underutilized, and 95 percent of those were determined to be "chronically underutilized", meaning that they have been underutilized for the past three to five years. One million meals go unserved annually due to underutilized centers.
"Clearly, something is not working," said Mendez-Santiago.
"Why can't we fix the centers [we have]," Marshall retorted.
