Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Nydia Negron 212 788-2958
"We owe a great deal to today's older New Yorkers, whose labor, ideas and dedication have contributed tremendously to the vitality of this City," Mayor Giuliani said. "This is why I've made services to the elderly a priority. During my administration, I have ensured that City services for the elderly remain intact, keeping the City's 335 senior centers open and maintaining the range of valuable programs to ensure their well being. You can be sure that I will do all in my power to keep New York City the best place for seniors to live."
"As a Queens native who went to school right in this neighborhood, I am well aware of the vitality of the senior population in the Forest Hills/Rego Park area," Commissioner Stupp said. "By coming to the Self-Help Austin Street Senior Center, Mayor Giuliani demonstrates his desire to learn first hand the concerns of older New Yorkers. And despite the difficult budget decisions he has had to make, not once has the Mayor cut the City's funding for the services that they depend upon."
Topics discussed included implications of Federal Welfare legislation for legal immigrants, housing, transportation, health insurance, crime, and safety.
Self-Help was one of the first community service agencies to organize in Community District 6 in Queens. The Austin Street center recently moved to the Forest Hills Jewish Center in order to provide seniors with better and more accessible service. The center creates a home away from home for local senior citizens by providing of kosher lunches, counseling, case assistance, education, recreation, nutrition education, and telephone reassurance.