LeFrak Senior Center expands

A senior center serving the community of Corona’s LeFrak City recently moved to a larger building, where it now caters to more seniors and provides more activities for them.
LeFrak Senior Center celebrated its move to its current location, at St. Paul’s Parish Hall on 98-16 55th Avenue, on Friday, December 12.
The new space, to which the center moved in September, has a capacity for over 400 people, while the old one, located in a basement a few blocks away, could only fit 50 individuals, explained Tammy Marrero, coordinator of the center.
“It grew so much that I couldn’t feed any more - I didn’t have the space,” Marrero said about the old center, where the number of seniors coming to get a one-dollar three-course lunch had been on the increase due to the economic downturn.
“We are surrounded here by five senior housing developments that are right across the street, so [seniors] make their way down here,” Marrero explained.
The new center now serves lunch to about 150 a day, but Marrero said she expects this number to increase due to an “overwhelming need.”
Open every week day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., the new center also provides more room for having art classes and playing dominoes, chess and ping pong. “They love that ping pong,” Marrero said.
Councilmember Helen Sears, who represents the area, helped secure resources for the center’s move.
“Seniors are one of our most treasured resources because they hold within themselves a living link to our past and the wisdom earned through years in the community,” Sears said. “This new center will go a long way in helping them enjoy their later years in comfort in dignity.”