REMARKS
Council Member Crystal Hudson's opening remarks on Older Adult Centers in NYCHA facilities
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ยท
4 min
Council Member Crystal Hudson, chair of the committee on aging, delivers opening remarks for a joint oversight hearing on Older Adult Centers (OACs) at New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) facilities. She highlights the importance of OACs, especially those located in NYCHA properties, and addresses concerns about maintenance, repairs, and the division of responsibilities between NYC Aging and NYCHA.
- Hudson emphasizes that about one-third of OACs are located on NYCHA properties, serving a significant portion of OAC participants.
- She raises questions about the process for addressing urgent repair requests and the impact on older adults when OACs face closure due to maintenance issues.
- The council member calls for clarity on the division of responsibilities between NYC Aging and NYCHA, suggesting the need for a memorandum of understanding between the agencies.
Crystal Hudson
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Good afternoon, everyone.
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I'm council member Crystal Hudson, chair of the committee on aging.
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Welcome to today's joint oversight hearing with the committee on public housing on older adult centers at NYCHA facilities.
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Thank you to chair Banks and the committee on public housing for holding this important hearing with me today.
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Today, we are joined by council member, Chi Oh say.
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New York City is home to 322 older adult centers or OACs.
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108 of these centers or about 1 third are located on NYCHA properties.
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Per NYC aging's report on older adult center metrics published last year, OACs and NYCHA facilities served 6,325 daily participants out of almost 26 6000 daily OAC participants in New York City.
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In other words, about one of every 4 OAC participant goes to an OAC in a NYCHA facility.
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OACs provide older adults with access to nutritious meals, activities, resources, and social engagement, while also working in partnership with other community agencies, organizations, and businesses to offer opportunities to stay active, healthy, and safe.
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OACs are vital community hubs.
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Research shows that older adults who participate in OAC programs experience better psychological well-being across several measures, including greater life satisfaction, higher levels of health, and increased social interaction.
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OAC program participants can learn to manage and delay the onset of chronic disease and may experience measurable improvements in their economic, emotional, mental, physical, social, and spiritual well-being.
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In short, OACs help older adults stay healthy and independent, allowing them to age in place with dignity.
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So what happens when an OAC on NYCHA property is faced with an urgent repair quest request that impacts operations?
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What if an OAC is forced to close due to a maintenance issue or broken equipment?
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Where do older adults turn when their community space is shuttered because of mold or a broken stove or extensive water damage?
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Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the upkeep of these centers and creating safe and modern spaces for older adults to congregate?
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As our city's older adult population grows exponentially, there remains a dire need for major investments to support the infrastructure of aging in place, including and especially OACs and NYCHA buildings.
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OAC staff and participating older adults at OACs on NYCHA properties face unique challenges in addressing facility issues due to the lack of clarity around which agencies are responsible for which repairs.
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While NYC aging has previously testified before these committees that NYCHA is responsible for everything inside the wall or above the ceiling.
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The delineation of responsibility between NYC Aging and NYCHA is not always clear in practice, and this has been the case for years.
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In one instance shared by an OIC provider in Flushing, Queens, NYC Aging and NYCHA failed for months to agree on which agency was responsible for fixing a gym's leaking roof, leaving the space unusable by community members in the meantime.
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Press reports and direct feedback from OAC staff and participants to our committee illustrate continued confusion and finger pointing when something goes wrong.
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Much of this bureaucracy could be streamlined or at least clarified by a memorandum of understanding between NYC Aging and NYCHA.
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I look forward to discussing the status of an MOU to ensure that the division of responsibility for facility and maintenance issues is clear, And I'm eager to learn more about the ways in which NYC Aging and NYCHA are educating OAC staff and older adults about who to turn to when they need help.
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The OAC metrics report tracks the number of complaints about NYCHA facilities, such as needed repairs or other structural or operational issues.
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In 2024, NYC aging reported 27 such complaints regarding NYCHA facilities facility issues at OACs.
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In the majority of such cases where OAC staff or NYC aging could not resolve the issue, NYC aging's NITRA liaison escalated the facility complaint to NYCHA management for resolution.
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We will check-in today on these escalated requests and their statuses as well as whether such facility issues have disrupted OAC operations.
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In closing, NYC aging and NYCHA have a responsibility to ensure that our city's older adults congregate in clean and safe OAC facilities and to quickly make repairs and address facility issues when they arise.
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No OAC should have to close due to a lack of resources for needed repairs.
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Thank you to the representatives for the administration for testifying today.
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Thank you to the members of the aging committee and the committee on public housing who've joined us.
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I'd also like to thank my staff, Andrew Wright, Elica Ruintan, and Omar Richardson, and aging committee staff, Chris Pepe, Chloe Rivera, and Saimel Hamid.
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I will now turn it over to chair Banks for opening remarks.