Stavisky: Senior Centers Safe, For Now

, the voice of the many was heard in Albany over the weekend. Gov. Andrew Cuomo reconciled his budget with those of the state Assembly and Senate, restoring $25 million dollars once again to Health and Human Services and Title XX.

The restoration means that two Forest Hills Senior Centers that were very likely to be lost are now most likely to keep operating for another year. The restored funds still have to be administered by the city.

“The senior centers have been given a reprieve for another year,” State Sen. Toby-Ann Stavisky said in an interview. “The short answer is yes, we restored the $25 million in Title XX funding, but it should never have been cut in the first place.”

Stavisky said she believes its wrong to keep threatening senior centers every year that the state has a budget shortfall.

Matt Hynes, spokesman for the Council on Senior Centers and Services was cautiously optimistic in the aftermath of the compromise, as well.

"All sources indicate that the money is going to be restored. But it’s Albany, and you don’t know until it actually happens,” Hynes said.

Susan Rabinowicz, the director of the one of the centers slated to close if funds were cut, said she was ecstatic about the prospect of their restoration.

“We’re extremely pleased and happy that the governor saved the centers,” Rabinowicz said. “We hope that no further cuts will come our way this year, we’ve seen cuts too many times.”

She said that since the specter of cuts had been raised weeks ago, the seniors who use the center had been “nervous wrecks” about the possibility of closure.

“Seniors need stability, they don’t need to see the name of their senior center on some ‘closing’ list.”

The budget is likely to be ratified on Thursday or Friday, marking the first time in five years that the state will have an on-time budget.