It was a bittersweet day of celebration for the seniors and politicians who joined them to cut the ribbon on the new Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center.
The happiness that comes with celebrating the senior’s renovated space was tempered with the fact that this center finds itself on the list of 105 senior centers that may close if funding is not found.
The attendees to the March 11 festivities did their best not to let their predicament ruin the celebratory atmosphere of the afternoon, but it was never far from their minds.
“Today is a wonderful celebration,” said Borough President Helen Marshall, who donated $25,000 to help with the renovations and a karaoke machine for the center. “I don’t want to put a damper on the celebrations.”
“We shouldn’t let a black cloud mire what is going to be a great day,” said State Senator Joseph Addabbo. “This center can and will remain open.”
Eleanor Errante, 89 and the president of the center’s advisory council, choked up as she asked the audience, “If you didn’t get up everyday to come here, what would you do?”
“I would go to church, buy a newspaper, and have a coffee; then what?” said Thomas Flynn, 76, who comes to the center everyday. “It’s a dead end.”
“After this we have nothing,” said Richard Lazauskas, 65. “I just hope to God they keep it open.”
“This center keeps [the seniors] going, keeps them alive,” said Errante. “Otherwise, they’ll be hanging around their house getting old.”
The senior center reopened on February 2 after spending 18 months in the Richmond Hill Senior Center. The center moved there when the space they had used previously closed.
The Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Ambulance Corps offered to rent out half their space to the center since it was rarely ever used.
“The whole point of the ambulance corps is to help the community,” said Kathy Sexton-Dalbey. “I’ve been working on the ambulance for 21years. We see what the end result is for some of the seniors that don’t have families and don’t get checked on.”
“She was our biggest advocate,” said Debbie Hoffer, the director of field operations for catholic charities Brooklyn and Queens, of Sexton-Dalbey. “She did not rest until everything was finished.”
But now all that work may be for naught if the money allocated for senior centers is not restored.
This is an outcome that Councilmember Eric Ulrich said he will simply not accept.
“This senior center will close over my dead body,” Ulrich announced to cheers.
Click here to read about the potential closure of LIC senior centers.
Click here to read about the potential closing of the LeFrak Senior Center.
