The atmosphere at the United Senior Center in Sunset Park (USC) on Oct. 22 was livelier than usual as seniors, local politicians, and community organizers celebrated what had seemed unthinkable just a few months ago: the renewal of a 10-year lease for a place that has been the heart of Sunset Park’s senior community for 51 years.
Earlier this year, it appeared the 10,000-square-foot space was on the brink of closure after the landlord requested a cumulative rent increase of more than 86% — $121,800 — over a 10-year lease. Despite efforts to negotiate in good faith, the building’s owner, Amy Grabino, did not make any concessions on the rent hike.
That’s when New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, whose district includes Sunset Park, along with New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Member Alexa Avilés, stepped in. The lawmakers secured $1.1 million in discretionary funding — $500,000 from the City Council and $600,000 from the State Assembly — ensuring the reopening of the center after a brief closure.
Heastie, who attended the celebration, told the crowd he learned about the potential closure through a newspaper article and reached out to Mitaynes to see how he could help.
“I said, ‘This is not right. What is happening? What can we do to help?’” Heastie recalled.
The Assembly speaker said seniors who had served the city deserved to celebrate their “golden” years in “comfort and dignity.”
“Sometimes, when we give out money, people want to thank me. Thank me when I write a personal check — this was your money,” Heastie said. “This is the state’s money. And what better way to spend the state’s money than on all of you, to make sure that you have a place where you can gather and call home.”
Like many of New York City’s working-class neighborhoods, the vibrant, multicultural Sunset Park community has long faced gentrification pressures.
“For a community that’s been fighting gentrification for years, this was the last tidal wave that we weren’t sure we were able to overcome,” Mitaynes told Brooklyn Paper. “But we were able to get folks to pull resources together, and I’m very happy for the seniors and their ability to be able to stay, to have their space.”
Avilés, who represents Sunset Park, described senior centers as a “public good.”
“The situation for senior centers and nursery schools across the city are facing these kinds of hikes, and it’s not sustainable,” Avilés said. “This is a public good, and our government should ensure that these places remain in place, remain funded, and intact. So there’s a lot of work still to be done.”
USC is the largest older adult center in Sunset Park and serves more than 4,000 seniors each month, offering culturally competent, multilingual services, including meals, recreation and fitness, cultural activities, referral services, health care and transportation.
As isolation and loneliness among older adults rise, and suicide rates climb, centers like USC are literally lifelines for many, Avilés said.
“Many during the fight provided testimony about what [USC] meant to them. It was everything from, ‘I will die at home alone if I don’t have this place to come to. I have no one else [because] family moved away, no other place to go, and this brings meaning to my life,’” Avilés said. “When you hear that on multiple occasions, it sets an urgency right in your belly that you can’t fail, because that’s people’s lives on the line.”
Council Member and Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan — the “money man,” as Avilés called him — said it’s rare for communities to celebrate a victory like this one.
Brannan said preserving senior centers, particularly after COVID-19, was essential, though he admitted to Brooklyn Paper that securing the funds to keep USC open wasn’t easy.
“These are the seniors that literally helped build our city, and it’s important that we look out for them,” Brannan said. “[Securing the funds] was hard, but it was important. What the hell is more important than this? If we don’t do the right thing by our seniors, what are we doing?”
Grisel Amador, USC’s executive director, described the center’s community as a “big family,” regardless of cultural background.
Amador told Brooklyn Paper that during the center’s closure in July and August, community members would sit outside the building, asking when it would reopen. To keep their spirits up, she came up with a simple code: a yellow tablecloth in the window would signal the reopening.
“That was on Sept. 8. That was my sign,” Amador said.
Sunset Park resident Hector Gonzalez credited the center’s survival to the unity of the community and its leaders.
“It is important always to stay together, to work together and never, never, never be afraid of moving forward, because this is what makes the difference in the world,” Gonzalez said.
He added that he hoped other communities facing displacement would be inspired by USC’s success.
“I hope that other communities see this, that this was possible and not to be afraid when they need support,” he said. “We are here to support other communities as well.”
