Tag Archive | "Seniors"

At Bronx town hall, concerns about criminal justice, housing

Bronx state senators address their constituents on Thursday, Sep. 12.

THE BRONX, New York—Vivian Young has lived in the Bronx her entire life, but now, at 65, she’s worried about what it would take to remain living there.

“I love it here,” Young said at a town hall at Monroe College in University Heights last Thursday night.

She said affordable housing for seniors is getting harder to come by.

Over 40 borough residents attended the town hall hosted by Bronx state senators. They expressed concern over health, housing and criminal justice.

Young is also concerned about public health, noting that the Bronx has high diabetes rates.

In the borough, 16% of adults have diabetes, according to New York City Health Department data. Only 11% of adults in the city as a whole have the disease. The department notes that around 164,000 adults have not been diagnosed.

Steven Pacheco, 29, a student at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, wanted to hear about how lawmakers were prepared to handle marijuana convictions, rehabilitation into society, and market access, concerns rooted in racial inequality.

“The culture is rich, the people are beautiful,” Mr. Pacheco said of the Bronx. “[But] it’s the last borough in everything.”

Over forty residents appeared to express their concerns.

Sen. Luis Sepúlveda spoke on the legal system and its treatment of people of color. As the chair of the Crime and Corrections Committee, he said he had visited 13 facilities, which had conditions he described as “an abomination.”

Five state senators from the Bronx listened to residents’ concerns, but they also publicized their own accomplishments during the recent legislative session.

Sen. Gustavo Rivera said he was proud of legislation that “codified the ACA in law.”

As lawmakers touted accomplishments throughout their speeches, attendees applauded.

To get something done in the legislature, said Sen. Jamaal Bailey, “you have to go through the Bronx.” He is the Chairman of the Codes Committee. Each of the legislators at the town hall  chair a committee.

In the 2018 Midterm elections, Democrats picked up eight seats in the New York Senate, gaining control of both branches of the legislature and ending the divided government. This allowed them to pass 248 laws, according to official counts.

While just over 40 people showed up, in addition, one in five were staffers for legislators or Monroe College. The moderator opened the panel over a half hour late.

Freshman Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, occasionally sipping from a jar of kombucha, explained how she reestablished the Ethics Committee after years of hiatus. She also held sexual assault hearings.

After the event, Ms. Young expressed disappointment that Sen. Serrano was late due to parent conferences at school. 

“I think he could have just stayed home,” she said.

However, she was encouraged that by Sen. Rivera’s efforts at health care legislation.

According to Sen. Rivera, there’s more to do. “[We’re] just getting the training wheels off.”

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Meals-On-Wheels in Woodlawn is a hit, NY Daily News

Kathleen Brick, a 79-year-old Woodlawn woman, has been having a hard time getting around since her double knee surgery, so she’s taking advantage of the new Meals-On-Wheels delivery in the area, New York Daily News.

The nationwide program started in Woodlawn about six weeks ago, coordinated out of the Emerald Isle Immigration Center, reports the Daily News. It provides a free hot meal every day for seniors via a local catering company, Culinary Concepts.

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Diaz to hold Bronx rally in support of senior centers

Some older Bronx residents have a lot to lose if an April 1 state budget goes through with $27 million in cuts to elder services.  Sen. Ruben Diaz is expected to hold a rally today at 11 a.m. on the steps of Bronx Borough Hall to protest the proposed closures. The Wall Street Journal calls Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal “the steepest cut to the facilities in New York City history”. Citywide, 105 of  256 senior centers could have their funding cut this year. Reports suggest centers could start closing by July.

NY1.com lists the Bronx senior centers in danger of closing:


Arturo Schomberg Senior Center

CCBA Betances Senior Center

City Island Senior Center

East Concourse Senior Center

Einstein Senior Center

JASA Throgs Neck Senior Center

Kips Bay Castle Hill Senior Center

Mechler Hall Senior Center

Marble Hill Senior Center

Millbrook

Mitchell Houses

Parkside Senior Center

Pio Mendez

PSS-Davidson Senior Center

Rain Boston Secor Senior Center

Rain College Avenue Senior Center

Rain East Tremont Senior Center

Rain Gunhill Senior Center

Rain Nereid

Sister Annunciata Bethel Senior Center

Thomas L. Guess Commun

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[VIDEO] Bronx seniors go Wii

[VIDEO] Bronx seniors go Wii

By Ethan Frogget and Clara Martinez

Every Friday, a group of seniors gets together in the Bronx Library Center to bowl with the Nintendo Wii. The program is part of a citywide initiative launched by the New York Public Library system to bring new technologies to surrounding communities. Wii gaming is available in five other Bronx libraries and twelve centers in Manhattan and Staten Island.

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