Bed-Stuy Senior Center Saved With City Council Funds

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — A Bed-Stuy senior center the mayor threatened to close earlier this year has been spared with funding from City Council, records show.

The Sumner Houses space on Park Avenue and Marcus Garvey Boulevard is one of 10 centers initially deemed "underutilized" by the city, but spared after news of their imminent closing caused an uproar, the City Council's 2020 budget shows.

The Sumner center, which sees about 26 visitors every day, has an annual budget of $295,136 and all senior clubs will receive $1.77 million for fiscal year 2020, according to the City Council Finance Division.

The Sumner Houses Tenants Association will receive $6,500 to support senior recreational and cultural activities, $5,000 to fund programming and meals, and an additional $1,500 from the city's Housing Preservation and Development agency.

Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed closing Sumner and 11 other senior clubs in public housing to save $900,000 in the preliminary budget released in April.

The summary of the final fiscal budget characterized de Blasio's proposal to cut senior club funding as a "snub" against City Council, which had listed it as one of its priority projects.

"Not only did the Mayor ignore the vast majority of the Council’s spending priorities, but in certain areas ... the Mayor actually made cuts," the summary reads.

"He took those savings to fund Mayoral priorities, and not the programs that the Council identified as critical to its constituents."

The funding comes after the preliminary budget spurred protests and petitions across the city, and in Bed-Stuy, City Council member Robert Cornegy rallied seniors outside the Sumner Houses in May to demand de Blasio reconsider.

Resident Crystal Todd told Patch said the bustling senior was one of few places where elderly men and women who live in the neighborhood always felt welcome.

"I call this place home," said Todd. "I've investigated, and there's no place like home."

"The senior center allows people the opportunity to form bonds and come together around common issues and experiences," said Council Member Cornegy.

"I am glad that the city recognized the value of Sumner Senior Center and allocated the funding to keep it open.”