"TIME TO MOVE FORWARD ON AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING"

Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS) will host its second annual housing conference on affordable housing with services for older New Yorkers. This is the only citywide conference that focuses on affordable senior housing with services. The CSCS Housing Committee membership represents over 20,000 units of affordable senior housing operated by an array of nonprofit organizations across New York City. Importantly, HPD Commissioner Vicki Been will keynote the event.

HPD Commissioner Vicki Been states, “Senior citizens represent one of our city’s fastest growing populations. For many low-income seniors, the ever increasing costs of living can quickly overwhelm the resources of a fixed-income lifestyle, especially when it comes to finding appropriate housing that addresses their unique needs,” said HPD Commissioner Vicki Been. “CSCS and its members have been integral partners in our shared mission to provide New York’s seniors with affordable, supportive housing that allows them to age in place with dignity. If we’re to continue to fulfill this mission, we must stand together to demand that devastating cuts to critical federal funding streams are reversed and that we actively engage and educate our elected officials about the housing needs of our older New Yorkers.”

Igal Jellinek, CSCS Executive Director, states, “CSCS is excited about our housing conference, bringing together 200 community professionals and government officials, to discuss how to move the production and preservation of senior housing ahead. As plans move forward on affordable housing in City Hall and Albany, local communities and the NYC Housing Authority, CSCS looks forward to ensuring that the housing needs of older New Yorkers are met. The aging tsunami is here as New Yorkers over age 60 comprise the fastest growing segment of the city’s population. Thousands of older adults pay over 50% of their income in rent, leaving them on the fiscal cliff. Many would benefit from senior housing with supportive services as they age in place. Thousands of older adults are on waiting lists for senior housing. As the conference title says – Time to Move Forward on Affordable Senior Housing.”

To learn more, contact Bobbie Sackman, CSCS Director of Public Policy at bsackman@cscs-ny.org, or Eric Bederman, Press Secretary, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) at bedermae@hpd.nyc.gov.