A feared request for proposal (RFP) put out by the city’s Department for the Aging for their widespread modernization plan, which many believed would lead to a consolidation and closure of senior centers, has been pulled.
The RFP was yanked in the wake of a recent leadership shake-up at the Department for the Aging (DFTA), following departure of Commissioner Edwin Mendez-Santiago.
Citing personal reasons, Commissioner Mendez-Santiago announced his resignation last week.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg quickly named Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, who had served as a commissioner for a number of city agencies under Rudy Giuliani, as Mendez-Santiago’s replacement.
Announced in January, the agency’s bold modernization plan is expected to “strengthen and improve the services seniors receive today and prepare for the growing and diverse needs of tomorrow’s seniors” and promised sweeping changes to area senior centers by 2030, when one-fifth of the city’s population would be over 60 years old.
Yet many feared that DFTA’s modernization is nothing more than a move to close struggling senior centers.
According to published reports, DFTA’s modernization could lead to the closure of 89 senior centers which the agency said are underutilized, outdated and do not offer the services that today’s seniors need, such as athletic activities and educational classes.
Their fears were realized in the RFP, which reportedly called for “senior center hubs.”
While no senior centers were specifically targeted for closure and consolidation, local elected officials prepared for the worst.
Just recently, New York City Comptroller William Thompson began a petition drive demanding that the Department for the Aging withdraw their RFP, which he says is a “misguided plan.”
Local legislators agreed.
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” said Bay Ridge City Councilmember Vincent Gentile. “Senior centers are one of the few city services that scored extremely high in user satisfaction.”
“This had nothing to do with money, but the modernization felt like a consolidation,” he said.
Coney Island City Councilmember Domenic Recchia, who represents one of the largest senior citizen populations in the borough, said he would like DFTA to modernize each senior center in the city individually, rather than all of them in one fell swoop.
“The truth is that there are senior centers that are underutilized,” he said. “Some are serving areas where there was once a lot of seniors, but now have a lot of young families. Communities change and the senior centers have to change with them.”
Recchia did agree with DFTAs plan to modernize services.
“Today’s seniors don’t just want to just play Bingo and dance anymore,” he said. “They want to go on trips and be more active. But still, you don’t have to modernize the services of every center at the same time.”
Gentile said that many of the senior centers in his district have already updated their activities.
“Over the years, they’ve brought in computer classes and trips, some of them have even put in exercise equipment,” he said. “They’re changing with the times.”
City officials announced Friday said that while they are still committed to the “comprehensive health and wellness approach promoting social, physical and mental wellness” they believe the modernization would provide, they agreed to withdraw the RFP and allow “the new leadership at DFTA to map a strategy for moving forward.”
“I know we all share a great vision for the older adults of New York City, and by working together as a team, we will be able to move our senior services into the future without losing the wonderful qualities our seniors have grown to love in the centers across the five boroughs,” said Barrios-Paoli in a statement. “This re-evaluation will give me the time I need to listen, learn and make smart decisions moving forward.”
