{"id":825634,"date":"2026-05-27T13:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/825634\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T13:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T13:53:21","slug":"nyc-council-presses-department-for-the-aging-on-whether-budget-keeps-pace-with-older-new-yorkers-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/825634\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Council presses Department for the Aging on whether budget keeps pace with older New Yorkers\u2019 needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

City Council members<\/a> pressed NYC Aging officials on Tuesday on whether the agency\u2019s proposed $577.1 million budget keeps pace with the needs of older New Yorkers, as advocates warned that rising housing, food, and health care costs are putting more pressure on seniors across the city.<\/p>\n

The hearing came two weeks after Mamdani unveiled a $124.7 billion executive budget<\/a> that he said closes the city\u2019s budget gap without raising property taxes or slashing services. AARP New York criticized the plan, saying in a statement that it \u201cdoes not yet appear to meet the moment\u201d for older New Yorkers facing rising housing, food, and health care costs.<\/p>\n

The Department for the Aging, also known as NYC Aging, is slated to receive $577.1 million in fiscal year 2027 \u2014 less than 1% of the city\u2019s proposed executive budget. The agency funds older adult centers, home-delivered meals, case management, home care, caregiver services, transportation and naturally occurring retirement communities, or NORCs.<\/p>\n

Council Member Linda Lee (D-Queens), who chairs the Council\u2019s Finance Committee, said the agency\u2019s proposed budget is $3.6 million higher than the preliminary budget, largely because of additional funding for indirect cost rates for human services contracts. But Council Member Susan Zhuang (D-Brooklyn), chair of the Committee on Aging, said the budget remains $28.4 million below the fiscal year 2026 adopted budget because Council discretionary funding has not yet been included.<\/p>\n

Zhuang said the city\u2019s older adult population is growing while the agency continues to receive a small share of the overall budget.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m disappointed to not see deeper investment in older adults in this plan, and as chair of this committee, I look forward to working alongside the administration to come up with new ways to create funds and implement expanded service for older adults,\u201d Zhuang said.<\/p>\n

Aging commish says vital services protected amid difficult budget<\/p>\n

NYC Aging Commissioner Lisa Scott-McKenzie defended the agency\u2019s spending plan, saying it protects core services while the city faces financial constraints.<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said the agency serves a city approaching 2 million residents over age 60. She said the proposed budget includes $263.6 million for older adult centers, $81.1 million for home-delivered meals, $57.6 million for case management, $47.2 million for home care, $16.8 million for NORC programs, $15.4 million for caregiver services and $7.3 million for transportation.<\/p>\n

AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel called for stronger investments in home-delivered meals, older adult centers, affordable housing, mental health services and support for family caregivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBudgets reflect priorities,\u201d Finkel said. \u201cIf New York City wants to be truly age-friendly, it must invest in the services that allow older New Yorkers to live with dignity and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NYCNYC Aging Commissioner Lisa Scott-McKenzie (l.) defended the agency\u2019s spending plan, saying it protects core services while the city faces financial constraints. (Emil Cohen\/NYC Council Media Unit)<\/p>\n

Much of Tuesday\u2019s hearing focused on whether the city\u2019s capital plan is enough to maintain the older adult centers where many services are delivered.<\/p>\n

Zhuang said NYC Aging\u2019s capital commitment plan totals $55.8 million from fiscal years 2026 through 2030, a 26.5% decrease from the preliminary plan. She said projects had been delayed and pushed into later years and questioned whether the plan was enough to support more than 300 older adult centers and affiliated sites across the city.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s capital commitment plan lists Department for the Aging commitments of $29.6 million in fiscal year 2026, $10.6 million in fiscal year 2027, $6.5 million in fiscal year 2028, $4.9 million in fiscal year 2029 and $4.2 million in fiscal year 2030, totaling about $55.8 million over five years. A separate executive capital budget document lists $2.9 million in fiscal year 2027 capital appropriations for the agency.<\/p>\n

NYC Aging Chief Financial Officer Jose Mercado said some capital funding had been moved to later years because of budget targets and because some projects were not ready to proceed. He said many projects are handled by other agencies, including the Department of Design and Construction, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the Economic Development Corp., with NYC Aging acting as a pass-through agency.<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said the agency was strategic in deciding which projects were moved to later years, prioritizing those ready to move forward.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u2018What\u2019s the plan?\u2019 rep asks regarding capital improvements<\/p>\n

Zhuang pushed officials on what older adult centers should do when they have repair needs, including elevator problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of OACs reached out to me saying we need to improve this,\u201d Zhuang said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have working elevators if they come to us. What\u2019s the plan?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercado said the agency reviews contract underspending and can authorize providers to spend when repairs are needed, with health and safety issues prioritized.<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said she was aware of sites with elevator issues, but the ones she had seen had been resolved. She asked Council members to share any new list of unresolved problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re out there and you know of them, please share them, because I\u2019d like to address them quickly,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

When Zhuang asked whether the response meant there was \u201cno real capital plan for OAC improvement,\u201d Scott-McKenzie rejected that characterization.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that would be incorrect,\u201d Scott-McKenzie said. \u201cThere\u2019s several OACs that have capital planning that\u2019s ongoing currently.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

She cited capital improvements at 106 NYCHA sites, including HVAC and boiler work, and said major infrastructure upgrades are planned, designed and moved through the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, there is a plan for repair,\u201d Scott-McKenzie said. \u201cAll relevant repairs are either in progress or being planned.\u201d
\n\"\"Photo by Emil Cohen\/NYC Council Media Unit\n<\/p>\n

Council members also raised concerns about payments to nonprofit providers that run many of the city\u2019s older adult services.<\/p>\n

Lee said providers had reported reimbursement delays, stagnant reimbursement rates, changing contracting requirements and limited opportunities to expand services. Mercado said the agency pays regular invoices in about two weeks on average, though it has up to 30 days by law. He said NYC Aging had waived some requirements tied to a new client tracking system to avoid delaying payments.<\/p>\n

But indirect cost rate payments are being handled separately. Manhattan Council Member Gale Brewer said providers told her they were owed millions of dollars and were concerned about cash flow.<\/p>\n

Mercado said NYC Aging was working through fiscal year 2023 indirect cost rate payments first, then planned to move sequentially through later years. He said the agency had received about 70 invoices for fiscal year 2023 and approved about half of them, with a goal of completing outstanding indirect cost rate work by June 2027.<\/p>\n

Food access was another major focus.\n<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said NYC Aging has served more than 10 million meals to older New Yorkers, including 6.1 million meals at older adult centers and 4.2 million through home-delivered meal providers. She said the agency is on track to match that number again in the new fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Council members asked about culturally appropriate meals, including halal and kosher food. Scott-McKenzie said the agency recognizes gaps in some meal options, including ultra-Orthodox, glatt kosher and halal meals, and wants to work with the Council to find a way to fund meals not covered under the current package.<\/p>\n

Lee also said she had introduced legislation to expand home-delivered meals from weekdays to seven days a week, saying food assistance for older adults should not be limited to business days. Later in the hearing, Scott-McKenzie said the agency supports the weekend meals initiative but that it is not currently budgeted.<\/p>\n

Transportation services also drew scrutiny as NYC Aging prepares new requests for proposals that could affect parts of the provider network.\n<\/p>\n

Council Member Lincoln Restler asked whether an upcoming transportation RFP would preserve group rides for older adults who are not connected to a senior center. He cited a program run with the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island that transports older adults to grocery stores.<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said the agency could not discuss details of the RFP but said transportation services would continue.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m committing to is that there will continue to be a transportation network that provides vital services for our older New Yorkers,\u201d she said. \u201cNow, what that looks like will be determined by the RFP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Restler also asked about expanding services to large residential developments where many residents are older adults but the buildings are not officially funded as NORCs.<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said a NORC RFP is expected later this year, likely around September or October. Asked whether it would expand the number of NORCs supported by DFTA, she said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see how the RFP turns out,\u201d adding, \u201cThat is our hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said three RFPs are expected later this year: first for NORCs, followed by older adult centers and then transportation.\n<\/p>\n

Council members also asked about mental health services, technology access, scams targeting older adults and senior housing. Scott-McKenzie said she would like to see more mental health services co-located at older adult centers, describing them as trusted spaces where older New Yorkers may be more willing to seek care. Officials said technology funding discussed at the hearing supports computer labs and training, but not personal home internet service.<\/p>\n

Zhuang urged NYC Aging to use the Cabinet for Older New Yorkers to address senior housing. Scott-McKenzie said the cabinet had been revamped and would meet June 25. She said affordable housing is one of her top priorities, along with food insecurity, access to quality health care and safety.<\/p>\n

Council Member Chris Banks asked about lease agreements for older adult centers in NYCHA developments converted through RAD\/PACT. He cited a center sponsored by Millennium Development that he said could not qualify for capital funding because it lacked a lease.<\/p>\n

Scott-McKenzie said there are lease issues at several locations that operate older adult centers and that NYC Aging would work with NYCHA to avoid unnecessarily displacing seniors.<\/p>\n

Restler also asked about NYC Aging\u2019s planned move to 14 Wall Street, citing past scrutiny of the proposed lease. Scott-McKenzie said negotiations were continuing and that planned construction would focus on upgrading services for older New Yorkers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City Council members pressed NYC Aging officials on Tuesday on whether the agency\u2019s proposed $577.1 million budget keeps…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":825635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[852,324942,5229,238201,299284,13237,11644,39391,324941,405,403,6640,5226,5225,339116,5228,5227,282289,24517,339117,6358,339118,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-825634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-affordable-housing","tag-aging-services","tag-america","tag-capital-plan","tag-caregiver-support","tag-city-budget","tag-food-insecurity","tag-healthcare-costs","tag-home-delivered-meals","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-council","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-nonprofit-providers","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-aging","tag-older-adults","tag-senior-centers","tag-seniors","tag-transportation-services","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}