| Releases & Statements
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum released the results of an investigation indicating that 87% of the City senior centers surveyed (65 out of 75) do not have the back-up generators they need to maintain power in case of emergency.
“It is unacceptable for the City to let our elderly down precisely when they are most vulnerable. No New York City senior should ever be stranded in the dark.”
The office of the Public Advocate conducted the survey of City senior centers to determine what problems and difficulties they faced during the blackout of August 2003. The survey yielded the following additional findings:
More than half of the senior centers (41 out of 75) surveyed experienced problems resulting from the loss of power, including severe food spoilage, inability to open the day after the blackout, and difficulty caring for seniors forced to stay overnight
Bronx Senior Centers reported having the least access to emergency back-up generators
Brooklyn Senior Centers reported facing the most problems related to the blackout
Senior centers in New York City provide a variety of services ranging from group and home-delivered meals to health and educational services . In the report, the Public Advocate makes the following recommendations to the Department for the Aging (DFTA) and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA):
Provide emergency back-up generators at all senior centers
Make emergency supplies available at all senior centers
Develop emergency evacuation plans for senior centers
Undertake regular maintenance of emergency back-up generators at senior centers
Gotbaum said, “I urge the DFTA and NYCHA to take these common sense steps so senior centers can be the safe haven for elderly New Yorkers that they are supposed to be.”
|
