Gennaro unveils senior services plan

Calling Mayor Bloomberg’s Department for the Aging (DFTA) restructuring plan “too top-down and centralized,” City Councilmember James Gennaro laid out his own blueprint for a senior services overhaul that he believes actually caters to seniors.
With his DFTA “modernization” proposal, Bloomberg aims to create a system of mental, physical and social wellness centers across the city, but opponents argue the plan will jeopardize many existing centers and, in the end, harm the seniors themselves.
Gennaro’s 11-point plan – “because 10 just isn’t enough,” he said in a statement – was devised after the Councilmember held summer meetings with senior center directors across Queens. The plan, unveiled at a December 4 public hearing, calls for more active input from providers and seniors, impact statements on DFTA’s initiatives, and guaranteed funding “baselines” from state and city government.
According to Gennaro, DFTA undercounted the number of seniors receiving case management, landing about 3,500 people on assistance waiting lists. Additionally, Gennaro’s proposal points to a DFTA shortcoming with regard to how the agency calculates whether a senior center is efficiently utilized. Instead of basing its assessment on how many participants eat lunch – the Gennaro plan also addresses the importance of culturally sensitive meals – at a given location, DFTA must include the hundreds of seniors who use the health, wellness and cultural services that many centers offer, Gennaro says.
The plan also calls on DFTA to take into account how seniors get to the centers in the first place, highlighting the importance of community-based transportation and other local services.
Gennaro, who received assistance from senior services advocates in the drafting of his proposal, said, “The city’s current restructuring for senior citizens may help in some ways but it is hurting in many others.”