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Our Seniors

Bill Thompson understands the invaluable contributions made by New York City's seniors, and believes our City has a responsibility to ensure that our senior citizens are living in comfort and dignity-especially during these tough economic times.

As one of New York City's highest-ranking elected officials, Bill has used every resource at his disposal to increase access to much-needed services and resources to improve the lives of seniors across all five boroughs.

As Comptroller, Bill:

• Was a leading voice in the successful effort to defeat Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to fundamentally change and consolidate senior services, including the closing or restructuring more than 89 of our city's 329 senior centers.

• Conducted audits that exposed the dilapidated condition of many New York City senior centers. Issues included locked and blocked exit doors, a lack of illuminated exit signs, and inadequate lighting and broken handrails in exit passageways. Bill's recommendations led to major renovations and improvements at senior centers across the City.

• Worked with the Council of Senior Centers and Services to ensure that Bronx senior citizens would continue to receive the vital services provided by the Meals-on-Wheels program. The meal delivery is often the only in-person contact an isolated, home bound senior may have and those delivery personnel became informal eyes and ears for service providers.

• Recommended that senior centers partner with the Health and Hospitals Corporation and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide screenings for hypertension, glaucoma, hearing loss, and diabetes. Offering these important services would increase senior center attendance and participation and address important public health issues, as well.

As Mayor, Bill will:

• Ensure that service providers are allowed to define "core services."

The Department for the Aging must work collaboratively with on-the-ground service providers. A one size fits all approach to services ignores the reality that different communities have different needs. Senior centers-not Manhattan bureaucrats-are on the front lines of delivering services and have the best sense of what their communities need.

• Review the conditions and utilization rates of senior centers.

Some senior centers are in a state of physical disrepair or have been denied key services. By starving the centers of much-needed resources, Mayor Bloomberg has created the underutilization he has used to justify their closing.

We should conduct a comprehensive facility review and develop a long-term plan to bring these important community facilities into a state of good repair. The City should better utilize these facilities by providing-during off-hours-additional social services that community members may need, such as after school programming, ESL courses, and job training. By incorporating senior centers into a broader framework of social service delivery, our City can utilize these community facilities to their fullest potential.

• Improve and look to expand existing centers to accommodate expected growth.

Considering the fact that New York City's senior population is estimated to grow by an incredible 44% by the year 2030, our City must begin looking to improve and expand existing centers to accommodate growth. Improving the physical plant is yet another way to spur utilization.

• Improve health options and screenings.

The centers-in partnership with the Health and Hospitals Corporation and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene-could provide screening for hypertension, glaucoma, hearing loss, and diabetes.