Kathleen Horan
Kathleen Horan has worked at WNYC Radio since 2001 and been a reporter in the newsroom since 2006.
Seniors Protest Cuts Proposed for Department of Aging
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
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(Photo by Kathleen Horan)
New York, NY –
To help close the state's $9 billion budget deficit, Gov. David Paterson has proposed redirecting more than $25 million in federal funds away from the city's Department for the Aging. The agency says that would effectively cut a third of its budget. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer says Albany has gone too far this time.
"How dare they attack our grandparents, how dare they attack the people who--without our seniors this city would have ceased to function a long time ago," Stringer says.
Hundreds of elderly New Yorkers attended a rally and a preliminary budget hearing at City Hall this morning to fight the possible closure of about 75 senior centers.
Juanita Colon says if the center she visits in Sunset Park, Queens, closes she'd miss more than just her midday meal.
"I'm devastated, I have no place to go," she says. "I'm 71 years old and I have multiple medical problems and this is where I go to spend the time."
At a City Council budget hearing, the Commissioner for the Department for the Aging, Lilliam Barrios Paoli, said if the state implements $25 million in cuts, it could have a "catastrophic effect" on senior services in the city.
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