REMARKS
Council Member Hudson introduces and explains aging-related legislation
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4 min
Council Member Crystal Hudson, chair of the committee on aging, introduces two pieces of legislation aimed at supporting older adults in New York City. She discusses the Age in Place 2.0 legislative package, explains the contents of Proposed Intro 1022-A and Proposed Intro 1054-A, and reads a statement from absent Council Member Gutierrez.
- Proposed Intro 1022-A requires a study and plan for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs)
- Proposed Intro 1054-A mandates a 10-year plan to support aging in place
- Hudson highlights recent progress in aging-related legislation, including Intro 1025-A and Intro 1053
Crystal Hudson
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Good morning, everyone.
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I'm council member Crystal Hudson, chair of the committee on aging.
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My pronouns are she, her.
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And today, the committee is voting on the following legislation, proposed introduction number 1022 a, sponsored sponsored by council member Jennifer Gutierrez and myself, and proposed introduction number 1054a, sponsored by myself.
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We are joined today by council members Shulman, Mealy, Banks, Lee, Salam, and Williams.
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In November, I was proud to announce my age in place 2 point o legislative package.
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After working with aging advocates, council members, and other key stakeholders to place legislative package, including laws to expand right to council to all older adults, require universal design in all city funded housing, expand access to telemedicine and telehealth devices, and expand culturally appropriate programming at older adult centers.
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Age in place 2.0 represents the next step in ensuring that New York City is a place where older adults can thrive.
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Also in November, the council enacted my bill, introduction 1025 a, to ensure that older adults receive information and resources regarding employment and volunteer opportunities as well as workforce program opportunities through NYC aging.
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An introduction 1053, which requires NYC aging to conduct a feasibility study regarding the creation of older adult information points.
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The bills we are voting on today will continue to build on our progress towards creating an age friendly and inclusive city.
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Proposed introduction number 1022 a is a local law in relation to requiring a study and plan regarding naturally occurring retirement communities or NORCs and aging in place.
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More specifically, this bill would require the Department For the Aging to conduct a 3 year study to identify potential NORCs and neighborhood NORCs, assess the needs of older adults, evaluate necessary improvements, and collect data on demographic trends and health out outcomes.
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Within 2 years of completing the study, the aging commissioner would be required to develop and implement a plan to support aging in place within these communities.
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This plan would include recommendations for officially designating identified communities, resource estimates for supportive service programs, training for community based organizations, infrastructure improvements, and the establishment of a program to provide grant funding and other resources to support the operations of community based organizations to provide services within such identified communities.
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Proposed introduction number 1054 a is a local law to amend the administrative code of the of the city of New York in relation to a 10 year plan to support aging in place.
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This bill requires the aging commissioner in consultation with coordinating agencies to submit a 10 year aging in place plan.
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The plan would focus on assisting older adults throughout New York City, including in Newark and would include proposed projects and recommendations.
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These bills will ensure a renewed focus within city government on older New Yorkers and meeting their long term needs.
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A huge thank you to the advocates for their collaboration on these initiatives.
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I now wanna read a statement prepared by council member Gutierrez, who could not be here with us for today's vote on proposed introduction 1022 a as we believe she is becoming a mother of 2.
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Today, we take a critical step toward ensuring that our older New Yorkers can age in place with dignity and support.
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The expanding Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities Act is more than just a policy.
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It's It's a commitment to addressing the needs of our aging neighbors who have built and sustained our city.
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Currently, there are only 37 designated NARCs across New York City, serving just a fraction of the 1 and a half 1000000 New Yorkers aged 65 and older.
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Under the current system, an area can only qualify as a NORC if an existing nonprofit provided with non comprehensive funding has the capacity to run and support it.
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This requirement has left many neighborhoods without NORC services simply because they lack stable nonprofit infrastructure.
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This legislation changes that.
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It will allow us to identify additional communities with Newark potential, conduct comprehensive assessments of their needs, and provide the resources and support necessary to build aging friendly neighborhoods.
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I'd like to thank chair Hudson for her leadership and partnership in making this possible, and to council member Gutierrez, I say you are very welcome, and it's been my pleasure.
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My thanks to council member Gutierrez for her leadership on this critical legislation.
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Thank you to the members of the aging committee who have joined us today, and I would also like to thank my staff, Casey Addison and Andrew Wright, and aging committee staff, Christopher Pepe, Chloe Rivera, Julia Jeremous, and Samuel Hamid.
