By Rebecca Henely
Despite securing $630,000 in grants and holding an ecstatic 37th anniversary party last month, wherein it announced it would not have to close, the Glenridge Senior Center at 59-03 Summerfield St. in Ridgewood announced Friday it had temporarily shut its doors.
Jonathan Rowe, director of publicity for the center, said the center’s board of directors made the decision at its monthly meeting earlier in the week. While the center has a $300,000 City Council discretionary grant, secured with the assistance of Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Brooklyn), the board does not know when the money from the grant will be received.
“The board concluded that rather than incur further debt, it would be best to close so we would get a clearer idea of the full picture,” Rowe said.
He said the center has also not been able to get an advance on the grant or a bridge loan. It had requested one from the city Department for the Aging, but received no response.
Christopher Miller, spokesman for the DFTA, said the department does not give advances — especially for agencies that do not have a contract.
Rowe said the board has been pondering the decision of whether or not to temporarily close for about a month. When it knew the decision, most of the regular visitors to the center knew as well, he said.
The center has been facing closure since May, when the DFTA, which provided $575,000 to the center in 2009, said the center was one of about 50 that would no longer be funded by the department. In addition to the $300,000 secured by Reyna, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Ridgewood) also secured $230,000 for the center.
Rowe said many people depend on the center for life services, from game and movie nights to financial advisories to assistance for landlord-tenant issues or getting public benefits. For low-income individuals, there is a food pantry, which Rowe said can sometimes be the only source of food for them. Many seniors who visit the center normally do not get out of the house and their only friends and family are the people at the center, he said.
“Their well-beings may be in danger,” he said.
Rowe said the center is currently considering its options and may try to get a bridge loan or some other sort of money advanced.
“I guess it’s necessary,” he said of the closing. “It’s just tough not knowing where the end of that tunnel is.”
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
