Queens Pols Call On Mayor To Save Astoria Houses' Senior Center

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Two Queens officials are calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to cancel the city's plan to close the Astoria Houses Senior Center.

City Council Member Costa Constantinides and State Sen. Michael Gianaris are urging the mayor's office not to shutter the senior center at NYCHA's Astoria Houses as part of its latest budget proposal.

"Let's invest more in our seniors, not less," Constantinides said during a Thursday press conference. "That's the right answer. It's not saying, we're going to close it. It's saying, what can we do to make sure the seniors get what they need?"

The senior center, located at 4-05 Astoria Blvd., is receiving a $500,000 upgrade and will fully reopen in the coming weeks. Work started in 2014 and has since been plagued by construction delays, according to Constantinides, who fought for the funding.

Councilman @Costa4NY addresses @NYCMayorsOffice’s rationale that the senior center here had low attendance. pic.twitter.com/1uBBu9MvSO
— Maya Kaufman (@mayakauf) May 9, 2019

The mayor's $92.5 billion 2020 executive budget would reportedly save $900,000 by getting rid of senior clubs in public housing, which city officials said had low attendance and didn't offer many services. The city will instead transport seniors to nearby, established centers.

"That will also save us money while providing a better product to our seniors," de Blasio said.

Constantinides and Gianaris didn't dispute the claim that the Astoria Houses senior center has low attendance, but they took issue with the mayor's office using that as a rationale to close the center.

In a May 9 letter to de Blasio about the senior center, Constantinides noted that only a small area of the enter has been available during construction and called the claim a mischaracterization.

"The city created the environment for fewer people to use the senior center," Gianaris said on Thursday, adding that the city has historically underinvested in NYCHA properties.

The senior center cuts come as the city grapples with economic uncertainty and an increased financial burden from the state, according to de Blasio.

"We had to make decisions about where we thought we could do that with minimal negative impact," de Blasio said.