New Clarkstown Senior Citizen Cards Available

Although the Clarkstown Recreation and Parks Department began replacing senior citizens’ Courtesy Discount Cards with ones that include updated magnetic strips for use with newer scanning technology last August, it did not cause any problems until last month.

The new version allows seniors to gain access to Clarkstown’s Stay Fit Seniors Circuit Program and free admission to the town’s three pools. Only the 1,000 seniors who participate in the Stay Fit Program were initially notified about the change, there was no notice in the 2012 Spring & Summer Parks & Recreation brochure or any type of broader outreach.

According to Jo Anne Pedersen, Clarkstown’s superintendent of Recreation and Parks that will be corrected. 

“In the fall/winter (Parks & Recreation) brochure we will put a note about senior cards expiring after five years and to check the issue date on their cards,” she wrote in an email. “The current brochure already states that you can enter the pool for free with a senior citizen discount card.”

However, the card changeover caused difficulties for one senior, who is not part of the Stay Fit Program. She did not know about the replacement card until she tried to go to Germonds Pool in West Nyack on June 20. After initially being denied admission, Terry Schiff was allowed to use the pool that day only. Her next stop was the Recreation Department’s Administration Building in Zukor Park to get a new card and afterwards advised Pedersen in an email of the problems it caused for her.

“I went to reregister Friday afternoon 6/22--perhaps one of the busiest times of the season, with school now out for the summer and many parents bringing children to get their pass photos taken for the weekend's use,” Schiff wrote on June 25. “As a result of poor planning by your department and lack of notification of residents, I was obliged to stand (never easy for me for even a short period of time with my physical problems) in a crowded lobby for a long time (30+ minutes)--as a senior, with lots of available time, it would have been preferable for me to be able to choose a much less crowded time, earlier in the season, had the new regulation been publicized.”

Compounding Schiff’s irritation was the fact other seniors were given different information.

“Further adding to my frustration, I later learned that seniors who were admitted by other town employees were told to reregister--but not that they wouldn't be admitted after their first day, without the new cards,” she noted. “This may have been an improvement, but I was not given the opportunity to avail myself of that option to choose a less congested day to accomplish the required reregistration and still be admitted to the pool without the new pass!”

Senior Recreation Supervisor Elaine Apfelbaum said the older cards can still be used by seniors at local merchants that participate in the town’s Courtesy Discount Card Program. It also entitles seniors to pay half fare on the town’s Mini Trans Bus System. She said the card is a “lifer” but a technology upgrade in the department is not compatible with cards older than five years.

“The bottom line is senior citizen cards typically do not expire,” said Apfelbaum, adding the new cards look different and feature a digital photo of the senior and have a state-of-the-art magnetic strip

The card is free to any town resident at least 60 years old. Cards can be obtained with proof of age and residency at the Administration Building/Street Community Center at 31 Zukor Road in New City.  It is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday and Friday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.