It’s been a week to assess the impact following the passage in Albany of a $151 billion state budget. One bright spot: funding for senior centers and NORC’s (Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities) was restored.
Back in February, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou toured local senior centers to advocate for funding. The governor was proposing a shift of $17 million from the Department of Aging to childcare services. That would have threatened 65 NYC senior facilities. NORC Programs could have faced a $700,000 shortfall.
In the end, the money was restored to both programs by the Legislature.
“Senior centers and NORCs are more than social services — they create the kinds of communities that make aging in place possible,” said Squadron. “It’s great news that Albany has heard the call of hundreds of community members to save our senior services.”
Niou added, “…I spearheaded efforts in the Assembly to restore funding to our neighborhood NORCs, NNORCs and settlement houses, which provide all-encompassing social services to our most vulnerable, and I am glad that our budget did not leave our seniors behind. I thank all the seniors who organized against these cuts, Senator Squadron, and my colleagues and advocates for supporting this important campaign.”
