Six-month reprieve for St. Mary’s center

St. Mary’s Senior Center in Long Island City will stay open for an extra six months, according to local politicians who have been fighting for months to save the Center.
“We are extremely pleased about this decision which will allow the community adequate time to plan the next step so that our local senior citizens displaced by the closing will have alternatives,” said Assemblymember Cathy Nolan. The center has been dishing up lunch for seniors in the neighborhood for the past 20 years and provides social activities and assistance to local residents, Nolan said.
Originally slated for closure on Friday, June 29, St. Mary’s will not shutter its doors until December 29 at the earliest, according to a spokesperson from the city’s Department for the Aging (DFTA).
“We are working with local elected officials, seniors, and Catholic Charities to examine the often-underutilized center,” said Christopher Miller from the DFTA. When asked if the agency was considering moving the facility to another building, as several local politicians have suggested, Miller said only that the DFTA and the Center’s management, Builders for Family & Youth Inc., would be considering all options.
In a statement released after the announcement to keep St. Mary’s open, Builders for Family & Youth, Inc., an affiliate of Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens, said, “We are happy and thankful that we can continue to provide services to seniors in a community where Catholic Charities maintains an historic presence, and we hope a longer-term solution can be found so that the seniors of Long Island City will continue to have a senior center in their neighborhood.”
Last month, the management announced plans to close St. Mary’s, located at 10-14 49th Avenue, because of declining attendance, an influx of young professionals to Long Island City who do not use the center’s services, and the mounting costs of maintaining the building.
In a statement released announcing the Center’s closure, Builders for Family & Youth said that the number of lunch recipients had dropped to about 30 per day in recent years, indicating a decline in the Center’s utilization.
But elected officials Nolan and City Councilmember Eric Gioia countered with a rally outside of the senior center, calling on the DFTA, which has provided assistance to the center’s management, to find a new facility or keep St. Mary’s open.
A spokesperson for Gioia said that he is scouting other locations where St. Mary’s could be relocated.