BY IRENE SPEZZAMONTE
Affordable senior housing will be the focus of a special meeting that the Queens Interagency Council on Aging (QICA) will hold on Thursday, Nov. 19, at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.
Representatives from the borough president’s office and federal and local government will attend the meeting, which will focus on the housing crisis in New York City.
“I want to give information about what is being done about affordable senior housing,” said Bruce Cunningham, executive director of the QICA.
According to the QICA, for the 65 percent of senior citizens who live in rent-stabilized units, the rent occupies more than half of their income. Moreover, more than 2,000 seniors over the age of 60 are homeless.
This number is intended to see an increase of 47 percent by 2030, according to the QICA.
Cunningham said the event will be divided in three parts: what the government is currently doing; plans to combat the senior housing issue; and how participants can apply for the different senior housing programs.
HANAC — a Greek senior community service organization that helps senior citizens and their families — will join the discussion as well, according to Cunningham.
QICA was founded in 1971 as a nonprofit organization dedicated to discussing senior citizens’ issues. The organization, composed by several organizations, sets up meetings with the hope of engaging senior citizens and government members in open discussions. Cunningham defined them as “educational.”
The affordable senior housing event will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Queens Borough Hall, Room 213, at 120-55 Queens Blvd. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the meeting will start at 9:30 a.m.
“I expect to see a sizable group of seniors, as we usually have,” Cunningham said.
The next event organized by QICA will discuss how to make public transportation more accessible for seniors.
