City Council Candidate Responses

District 1

1. Please briefly share your background and note any experiences you may have in engaging older adults, whether professionally or personally, and in connecting with the non-profit sector.

Maud Maron

My first job out of college was as a project manager with the Randall’s Island Park Alliance. After I graduated from law school, I started working at Legal Aid, where I was involved before beginning my campaign. In both jobs I worked with senior citizens in different capacities. As a Legal Aid lawyer, I represented many older clients whose needs were unique. Over the course of my 20 year career with Legal Aid, I served as a criminal defense practice staff attorney, a volunteer faculty and lecturer, and a senior staff attorney. Additionally, from 2001-2003, I worked as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Law in the Criminal Defense Clinic at my alma mater, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Finally, as of now, I am a founding member of two non-profit advocacy groups, the education advocacy group PLACE NYC, and Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR for all).

Gigi Li

I started my career as a social worker and nonprofit leader working closely with other organizations and social service agencies. Over the last few years as Chief of Staff to Margaret Chin I have had the opportunity to help lead on issues that impact older adults through our work with the Committee on Aging. I’m proud of the advocacy we’ve done for New York’s older adults and the organizations that serve them.

Jenny Low

I have spent my whole life helping Lower Manhattan, empowering women, immigrants, seniors and people of color, and fighting for our progressive values. I’m the candidate who has demonstrated a track record and proven skills that are needed to help this district and the City recover from the devastation caused by COVID-19. While working for a bank, I made first time bank loans to minority- and women-owned businesses and small businesses and I have helped many startup businesses succeed. After the 9/11 tragedy, my team utilized programs provided by the Small Business Administration and NYC Economic Development Corp and helped many downtown small businesses get back on their feet. When I managed a multimillion dollar grant portfolio, I worked with nonprofits that focused on education, workforce development, anti-discrimination, affordable housing and programs that enriched the lives of seniors. I’m proud of my 30 years as a board member of the East Coast’s largest Asian American social service organization with a $190 million annual budget - the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), where I fought to keep senior employment training program for older adults, fought fiercely against the 240 Center St Co-op to displace the planned Open Door Senior Center, fought to build Chung Pak Senior Housing at 96 Baxter St and built the largest intergenerational community center for seniors and children in Flushing. As District Leader, I’ve been working to empower voices of marginalized communities and expand their political participation. I’ve also worked with other city, state and federal officials to deliver critical programs and resources to our community. And, I’ve gained valuable experience and insight into the workings of the City Council in my capacity as Director of Community Engagement and Director of Administrative Services for Speaker Corey Johnson. I will bring all this experience, skills and passion to serve in my new position and will hit the ground running on day one when I get to the City Council.

Susan Lee

My family and I immigrated to the United States in 1984 where we settled in the Lower East Side. I am a proud product of the New York City Public School. For most of my career I focused on serving those in need. My parents, like most immigrants, worked long hours and left my brother and I under our grandmother’s care. At a very young age, we learned that respecting our elders is paramount. Our parents led by examples, they helped elderlies with errands, offer them a seat on the bus, and sometimes even cooked for them. Nothing was too mundane for them because they strongly believe that our elderlies are the backbone of our communities. They help build the neighborhood we live in. I still carry that belief with me today. The pandemic has demonstrated the importance for us to come together as a community for our elders. During the early months of the pandemic, my husband and I ventured to supermarkets to buy groceries for our elderly relatives because we didn’t want anyone potentially exposed to the virus. It just wasn’t safe. Seniors in immigrant communities are not familiar with online grocery stores such as Fresh Direct or Amazon Pantry; additionally, these online retailers do not have the ethnic produce that Chinese seniors are accustom too. Therefore, it was important for us to go to Chinese-owned supermarkets to purchase groceries for our elderly relatives. Another issue that the pandemic brought to the spotlight was the difficulty seniors had with making vaccination appointments. Most seniors do not have the technological literacy to make the appointment online and the hotline is difficult to get through. To address the needs, I volunteered to make appointment for some of the seniors. Since the vaccination roll out in mid-January, I helped over 20 seniors obtained vaccination appointments and accompanied several to get their shots. Senior centers throughout the City have temporarily closed for over a year. While I understand the need to keep our most vulnerable population safe, oftentimes, the isolation at home can also be damaging. As referenced above, many immigrant seniors do not have access to the internet or a computer. Some senior centers continue to host classes and meet-ups via digital platforms but for those who don’t have access to such technology, they often miss out on these social interactions. I noticed this with a group of seniors who visit Columbus Park in Lower Manhattan. I remember it was on a really cold February day, a group of seniors sitting at the park chatting with each other. Some were playing ping pongs while others were dribbling a basketball; all were there to socialize, regardless of the weather. During normal times, this would warm my heart but since the rise in Asian hate crime, I’ve become worried for them. I regularly stop by to check in on them to make sure they are safe. The pandemic has caused an incredible amount of hardship on everyone and it breaks my heart to see seniors who worked so hard to raise their families here and build the community cannot retire in a way that honors the sacrifices they’ve made and celebrate the contribution they put forth.

Tiffany Winbush

Personal and professionally, ensuing that older New Yorkers are properly cared for. Personally, my God parents are older New Yorkers, 89 and 69 respectfully and they are aging in place. I want to ensure that they can continue to stay in their home, especially now as their earning power has decreased. Professionally, my first job in NYC was working for a nonprofit that provided services for older New Yorkers across all five boroughs. This led to me having a passion for helping older New Yorkers.

2. As we live longer and healthier lives, what are your priorities with respect to promoting equity across all ages in our City?

Maud Maron

The most urgent issue the city must address to protect our older population is the rapid rise in crime we are experiencing in New York at the moment. Like all of my neighbors, I have been shocked and horrified by recent reports of vicious attacks on older New Yorkers, specifically older members of our Asian communities. These senseless, evil acts not only harm their victims, but also entire communities; I have heard from older members of my community that such attacks cause them to fear leaving the house. We must address the real and rampant rise in violence in our city to protect our children, ourselves, and our elders.

Thinking more in the long term, there are a number of infrastructural issues that the city can and must address to make our city more equitable for people of all ages. For one, the city must work more diligently to make public transportation more accessible. A mere 25% of subway stations are wheelchair accessible. This is a shameful number and must be addressed. Additionally, Access-A-Ride has been subject to a litany of legitimate criticism in recent years — trips are unnecessarily long and cause users to miss work and appointments, users have been stranded, and complaints cause retaliation. The city must address these issues to ensure that our most vulnerable populations have access to safe and efficient transportation. Secondly, the city can and must address the poverty and food insecurity that runs rampant among New Yorkers over the age of 65; right now, 20% of people 65+ do not have enough food in their households, double the amount pre-pandemic. Finally, I would like to see the city fight to protect and expand available walkable green-space in New York. Especially for our oldest and youngest New Yorkers, park space is accessible and invaluable.

Gigi Li

Affordable housing: preserve existing affordable housing, build new affordable housing, and increase capital investments in NYCHA, including tackling chronic repair backlogs. Caregiving for seniors & children: our social safety net is often at risk during financial downturns. Investing in universal child care, after school and immigrant services, and our public school system is essential. Our seniors are a diverse and growing population, and the depth and breadth of their needs became clear when COVID impacted our city. COVID Recovery & Small Businesses: decimated by the pandemic, our small businesses are the key to neighborhood stability. We must provide support for small businesses, foster opportunities for local entrepreneurship, and develop a network of local good wage jobs. It is also essential that we fully fund health care services and make sure that no one is denied access because of their immigration status or ability to pay and that we address the long term issues of resilience and climate change facing our communities.

Jenny Low

Equity and inclusion are the cornerstone of my life’s work. And, I’ll continue this commitment at the City Council. As administration after administration develops plans for affordable housing, open space, public transportation and accessible education, certain groups of people have been excluded from having a seat at the planning stage. I’ve been fighting for decades for our elected officials to pay attention to seniors, non-English speaking immigrants, the disabled and the poor when developing plans on a host of issues. Recently, the city rolled out a vaccination plan that paid no attention to all those marginalized communities. If you didn’t have internet access, a computer or smartphone, and spoke English then you were out of luck getting a lifesaving vaccine. Since the early days of the vaccination roll out, I’ve been able to assist more than 1,000 seniors get appointments and often times would drive them to the appointment site. We must do better to provide equity in all we do. I’m committed to ensuring that policies and practices will not add burden to groups based on race, age, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, religion, or disability. I’ll prioritize engagement from diverse stakeholders and secure meeting locations complying with ADA, add more seating, add language interpreters and provide child care services so more constituents can be part of the policy planning process. I will also address inequities in our community by requiring developers to complete a Social Impact Assessment to improve the understanding of the consequences of a project on our seniors, working families, non-English tenants, young children and the disabled.

Susan Lee

As we live longer and healthier lives, I want to focus on screening and early detection for diseases associated with aging. Early detection can improve health outcomes while also lowering the cost of treatment by detecting and stopping the progress of such diseases. I will work with the Department for the Aging on a public awareness campaign focused on early detection. Additionally, I will work with community-based organizations to expand health programs that provide screening to low-income communities. As we aim for healthier lifestyle, I encourage healthcare providers to identify individuals who face food insecurities and refer them with community-based organizations where they will connect them to SNAP and food pantries in their neighborhoods.

Tiffany Winbush

An educational campaign that highlights the benefits of aging in place would serve as a reminder to all across that the city that New York City is also home to Seniors to plan to retire and age in place here. We can empower organizations and businesses throughout the city to employ advocates that can speak on behalf of older New Yorkers.

3. Do you support increasing the budget for the Department for the Aging (DFTA), which funds programs such as Senior Centers, NORCs, home-delivered meals, and more? Please give rationale for your response and specify any specific funding changes you are most committed to achieving.

Maud Maron

Yes. Seniors make up 20% of New York’s population. We can and must care for them adequately. I would particularly like to see an expansion of Senior Centers, which provide crucial opportunities for our older communities to socialize and engage with others. Additionally, I support the continuation and expansion of home delivered meals — thousands of seniors face food insecurity, and however the city can help with that it should.

Gigi Li

Yes I support increasing the budget for the DFTA. All the programs mentioned function on tight budgets and provide essential services, I believe they would all benefit from increased resources. One place I would start with additional funding is adding a budget line for marketing and outreach for Senior Centers. Centers have been asking for years for resources to make sure that people know about the programs that are available to them. I am also very interested in expanding intergenerational programming and OATS and would advocate for more funding to do so.

Jenny Low

I am fully in support of an increase in the DFTA budget, particularly for NORCs, senior centers and home-delivered meals. Our population is aging and the city must adequately plan and spend funds to support seniors and their caregivers. I’m most proud of my work at CPC establishing major seniors centers in Chinatown and Flushing. These centers connect our immigrant older adults to vital community services that can help them stay healthy and independent. I’m so pleased to have won over the co-op board that wanted to displace the Open Door senior center on Grand Street. The center offers nutritious breakfast and lunch, educational and recreational programs and social services for more than 300 seniors. It’s my hope that we can reopen senior centers soon after more seniors get vaccinated. But we need more resources to retrofit the ventilation system, provide more PPEs and cleaning supplies and train staff to assist seniors in covid times. In addition to my work at CPC, I also volunteer at Hamilton-Madison House (HMH), a settlement house serving Chinatown and Lower Eastside residents for more than 128 years. HMH runs a NORC at Knickerbocker Village. Most seniors want to be independent for as long as they can, and being in their own home, in their own space, is of great comfort to them. But we have to provide more resources to NORCs like access to a health-care clinic, coordinated activities, reliable transportation to and from appointments and delivery of nutritious meals. I was pleased to help deliver pantry boxes provided by LiveOn to seniors at KV. I saw the need for homebound seniors and the disabled to have meals and grocery delivered at the start of the pandemic. The city’s free meals are good but how many cold sandwiches can you take? Along with a few friends, I founded a free grocery delivery service bringing fresh produce and grocery to seniors on SNAP so they can use their EBT cards to make the purchase. Since last April, I’ve been volunteering with ReThink Food to deliver free culturally sensitive, nutritious meals to the most vulnerable in our community. In the last year, I’ve proudly helped deliver more than 1 million meals to seniors and families in the Chinatown/Lower Eastside community. Rethink partners with local restaurants to prepare these meals. These meals have kept local restaurants opened and workers employed. It's a win win for the community. Another bonus has been to work with HMH at Knickerbocker Village to provide ReThink meals to seniors. Once the seniors began receiving meals, HMH followed up with wellness calls. I like to say we start with a meal then we enhance the experience with social, mental and emotional help for seniors. It’s one of the most rewarding feelings to see the warm smiles of seniors who receive the free meals and the attention they deserve.

Susan Lee

Yes, I do support increasing the budget for the Department for the Aging. The city’s 2021 budget left out $15 million that was previously promised on June 30, 2020. Additional funding was cut because on-site meals will not be provided at senior centers in the near future. As the city reopens, these programs will be back on and without proper funding, it would be difficult to provide them. These funding cuts will hurt many service providers who serve this population. Discretionary funding has also been reduced in the 2021 budget, which should be restored to previous levels. I understand the city is in a fiscal constraint but services to seniors are vital. The continued isolation can be detrimental to seniors living alone which is why I support additional funding for geriatric mental health services. We need to invest additional funding to Senior Centers so they can make repairs, capital upgrade and building improvements. I propose increase in funding to NORC so they can continue to coordinate support for housing, social service, and health care providers.

Tiffany Winbush

Yes, I fully support increasing the budget for DFTA. A person's earning potential decreases as they grow older, but that doesn't mean that expenses decrease. It's still necessary to pay for housing, healthcare, transportation alternatives since the MTA isn't fully accessible and so much more. The DFTA budget should be increased in order to bridge the gap between the financial resources that Seniors have vs. what they're missing. Areas of funding that I'd focus on increasing include: 1) Access to food. Food insecurity is still far too expensive. 2) Rental assistance. Increase funding to the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) Program. 3) Senior Centers. Loneliness is a major issue amongst Seniors. Increased loneliness can lead to a decrease in overall health. We should increase the number of Senior Centers throughout the city, while extending hours of operation.

4. Do you support implementing a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for city-contracted human service workers and the full implementation of the Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) initiative for non-profits? Please explain your response.

Maud Maron

I agree with implementing a COLA increase for city-contracted human service workers. Human service workers do an admirable job helping our cities most vulnerable workers, and in turn the city owes them a livable wage. As our city gets more and more expensive, we must in turn make sure that we are compensating our essential workers adequately. I wholeheartedly support the sentiment of the Indirect Cost Rate Initiative. Non-profits do essential work in protecting our city’s most vulnerable and face undue financial burdens in doing so. And I strongly disapprove of the Mayor and the City Council abruptly cutting its budget in 2020, denying non-profits funding they were promised the year before, and thus causing many organizations unnecessary budgetary crises. Once the city bounds back from the fiscal crisis COVID-19 has caused, I would support the full implementation of the ICR initiative.

Gigi Li

Yes, I support both of these changes and advocated for them to be included as part of the initial budget response for this year. The human service workers in our city work incredibly hard and have often been deeply underpaid, COLA increases and implementation of ICR are steps in the right direction for providers and non-profits.

Jenny Low

I absolutely support a COLA increase. Human services are the foundation of our communities, providing critical interventions to local residents, including after-school programs, supportive housing, job training, community centers, and more. The state hasn’t been paying enough for human services workers to keep up with inflation over the past ten years, much less earn a real Living Wage. Underfunding human services is an equity and racial disparity issue: the nonprofit human services workforce is 81% female and 46% women of color. Every day, our human services nonprofits and their workforce work to promote and protect some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers. I support human services Cost of Living funding a budget priority this year and every year. For too long, nonprofits didn’t always get the complete funding they needed for indirect services like administrative expenses and overhead costs, such as rent. Underfunding was an issue before the pandemic then the Mayor cut ICR funding nearly 40% providers were told that all FY20 reimbursements would be completed, as the City guaranteed in November 2019. Then after approval of the FY21 Adopted Budget – six weeks after the end of FY20 – providers were informed that FY20 indirect funding would actually be cut retroactively up to 40%. This is wholly unacceptable. I join human service nonprofits to demand that Mayor de Blasio restore funding for their indirect costs and end retroactive budget cuts to the Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) Funding Initiative. We cannot put providers at significant financial risk when the demand for their services has drastically increased. Human services nonprofits cannot provide the necessary services and jobs New York City needs to continue to respond and recover from Covid-19 if the City does not honor its financial commitments to them. I will be a strong partner with human services nonprofits to secure COLA increase and fully implement the ICR initiative.

Susan Lee

I support the implementation of a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for city-contracted human service workers. Oftentimes, those who work human service agencies are paid less than their counterparts doing similar line of work in the private sector. It is important to pay human service workers competitive wages so organizations can hire and retain critical staff. The Indirect Cost Rate initiative for non-profit should be implemented. At times, it is hard to separate certain costs between programs within an organization. To alleviate any misunderstanding, it is wise to implement an indirect cost rate so both funders and grantees are aware of the cost presented in the proposed budget.

Tiffany Winbush

Yes, I support both. Far too many can be classified as the working poor. There is absolutely no reason why a person who works 40+ hours should not be able to provide for themselves and their families. The COLA should help ensure with this issue. Additionally, non-profits are often the backbone of our communities. They have been crucial, especially during the time of COVID. Implementation of ICR would help ensure these non-profits can stay afloat.

5. Given that many older New Yorkers rely on limited fixed incomes and would prefer to age in community, rather than entering costly nursing homes, how will you address the need for affordable senior housing with services for a growing older population? How will you evaluate/respond to affordable senior housing proposals during ULURP?

Maud Maron

The ULURP process is obviously one that is flawed and deeply in need of reform. As of now, land use proposals pass through a series of non-elected boards in a process that is both rushed and undemocratic. I would like to see a ULURP process that is as inclusive of neighborhood and community input as possible. That being said, working within the existing ULURP process, I would use my role as a government official and a community leader to ensure that as much community input is involved as possible. I would facilitate community outreach to members of the impacted communities — namely older adults in my district — to ensure that the affordable housing plans were acceptable and addressed the needs of seniors in my district.

Gigi Li

I support increasing housing stock specifically set aside for older New Yorkers and increasing protections to help older New Yorkers stay in their homes. Residents in our community need to be able to age in the community without being priced out. I would also work with the State electeds to allow seniors that lived in buildings that were Mitchell-Lama and transitioned to private (such as Independence Plaza North in Tribeca) be eligible to apply for SCRIE/DRIE. The ULURP process needs to be redesigned in general to increase community input and take into account the impacts of land use on groups including older adults.

Jenny Low

There is simply not enough senior housing to go around. Yet we know the creation of permanently affordable low-income housing and infrastructure for a broad array of economic opportunities will be key in helping neighborhoods recover from the pandemic. These targeted projects will be crucial in having the city build more resilient neighborhoods without displacing seniors and low-income families. I am proud to play a role in establishing two senior housing complexes for Chinese seniors in Lower Manhattan and will do all I can to add more. The need for affordable senior housing is acute in Lower Manhattan as poorer communities are surrounded by wealthier ones and the lack of available land is making the crisis more daunting. I hope developers will use Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA), to create affordable options for seniors who want to age in place. I would work with developers who want to expand NORC communities but there needs to be benchmarks for housing built on public land. We should target rental expenses to be below the “normal” 30% household income for the lowest income residents. This will help ensure that the units that are created are actually affordable for the fixed and lowest income residents. I insist that any development project that seeks any form of government subsidies or zoning variance must have a minimum 30% of affordable housing units. To make the ULURP process more inclusive, we need to ensure that there is diversity in the community voices that are able to weigh in during the ULURP process. We have seen local residents excluded from the land use review process, particularly those in low-income communities of color, who often don’t have the time or resources to attend community forums and public hearings. With the pandemic and the process has moved online, I have serious concerns about elderly residents, non-English immigrants and working families lack of access to the internet and technology. Their voices are excluded from the ULURP process. This must change. I'm looking forward to working on additional affordable senior housing, NORC developments and integrative long term care facilities going up in New York City.

Susan Lee

The existing ULURP is not perfect. There needs to be more community input and engagement in the process. By the time, the community boards and members have a say, it’s usually already too far into the process. The need to affordable senior housing with wraparound services is greater than ever. Seniors are the fastest growing demographic in the City; therefore, it is important for us to ensure that they can age in place. I will advocate for additional funding for NORCs and also support affordable senior housings in the district.

Tiffany Winbush

Aging in place is a preference for most Seniors. They've spent their lives forming bonds in their community and they have every right to remain there. I support increasing funding to the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) to help Seniors stay in their homes. When considering senior housing, we should ensure that its built around resources. There should be easy access to markets, subway/bus access, doctor's offices, etc. Essentially, a 15-minute community, where everything that is needed is within 15-minutes of your home.

6. While many older adults wish to be connected, many lack the financial resources or training necessary to fully access technology, exacerbating the digital divide. How would you encourage the City to address this?

Maud Maron

Regarding technological access, I would encourage the city to provide greater access to technology and education about technology at Senior Centers. But as we move away from the COVID-19 crisis and more and more seniors are becoming fully vaccinated, I would also like to see more opportunities for in-person socialization for older members of our community. That is why I so wholeheartedly support investing in Senior Centers and Adult Daycare programs that can resume in person socialization.

Gigi Li

Lots of providers around New York have been working on creative solutions to this problem and as a council member I would continue to work with and advocate for funding for these organizations. One example of these programs is pairing older people up with younger volunteers to help with the specific technology needs. Another program that could be expanded is the library's hotspot check-out, a similar program could be implemented in senior buildings and centers. Ultimately all these ideas require additional funding to be successful. As mentioned in answer 3 I also support the work OATS is doing and would continue to support and expand their programing.

Jenny Low

Community-based organizations are an integral part of the community they serve. Seniors rely on them for a host of services and senior centers is one of them. Restaurants indoor dining reopened at 50% since March 19th. While fitness classes resumed at 33% on March 22nd. On April 19th, the Governor announced that on April 26th, museums and zoos can reopen at 50% and movie theatres at 33%. On May 19th, large arenas can increase capacity to 25% from current 10%. With the city reopening all around us, senior centers are still closed. The closure has caused isolation and hardship among seniors. During my outreach, I’ve spoken with many seniors who miss going to their senior centers to socialize and attend events. In recent weeks, the weather has been warm and some seniors are able to congregate at green spaces to chat with friends and get some fresh air. Staff at senior centers continue to work hard to ensure their clients’ needs are met. When the new meal delivery program was rolled out, in less than ideal conditions, where participants need to re-register every two weeks instead of every month, staff at senior centers registered their clients to ensure they aren’t dropped from the program. However, those who aren’t affiliated with a center may have been dropped inadvertently. To prevent these gaps in services to our seniors, I propose working collaboratively with CBOs as they have their ears to the ground and know intimately the needs of our seniors and can tailor or adjust service deliveries in an efficient manner.

Susan Lee

The pandemic has brought to spotlight the digital divide not just with children in our community but seniors as well. Some seniors have the resources and knowledge to use technology to stay connected with their families and friends; they are also able to attend video conferencing events provided by senior centers. But some who do not have the resources or the technological knowhow are left further isolated from remote activities provided by their senior centers.
The Governor’s Affordable Broadband Act is a step in the right direction by providing $15-a-month broadband service to low-income families throughout the state. To qualify for the $15-a-month plan, families need to demonstrate they receive public assistance, food stamps or free lunches for their children. Let’s expand this program to include seniors who qualify for SCRIE, receive public assistance, or food stamps. It is vitally important that we close the digital divide gap so seniors are not isolated in their homes, which can affect their mental health.
My office will work with CBOs to provide computer literacy training to seniors. Our goal is to assist seniors with gaining skills necessary to participate in video conferencing and to get familiar with using the computers.

Tiffany Winbush

We can help close the digital divide by offering free broadband, devices such as tablets and connecting the Seniors with the younger generation who can help educate them on the use of the devices.

7. During COVID-19, Senior Centers continued to work remotely, offering services in new ways to ensure their clients’ needs were met. To date, providers have not been authorized to operate in-person, despite restaurants, movies, and other entities, which older adults could also attend, being open. Further, community-based organizations, in many cases, have not been leveraged in the new meal delivery system. What are ways that you feel the City should work with nonprofits and engage older adults in the event of a future emergency?

Maud Maron

It is absolutely ludicrous that New York has opened restaurants, movies, and even indoor basketball games before it has allowed Senior Centers to resume their crucial work in our community. Safety measures provided, I believe we can and must resume in person activities at Senior Centers.
COVID-19 was an exceptional and unprecedented occurrence, and I am certain that the next crisis that hits our city will have different and unique challenges. That being said, I think there are lessons we can learn from COVID-19 in addressing future emergencies with regards to older adults. For one, non-profit groups did essential work in helping us to deliver food to our most vulnerable New Yorkers, including older New Yorkers. Such groups include Meals on Wheels, God’s Love We Deliver, and so many more. In the event of future crisis, we can and must work with such groups closely to ensure everyone is being adequately fed. The city also did work well with Senior Centers and community groups to help entertain and engage older adults, and I would hope that engagement could be continued and even bettered in the event of future emergencies. That being said, I think vaccine roll out was unnecessarily difficult and slow for members of our older citizens, due to both technological barriers and a needlessly bureaucratic system. If a vaccine roll out were to happen again, I would hope the city would work more closely with local community groups to engage older adults.

Gigi Li

The current administration didn’t put the work in the right hands when crisis hit. We should have leaned on the CBO’s, who know individuals and communities, from the beginning. In the future these organizations need to be resourced and prioritized. They have the network and knowledge to best serve people and ensure the safety of community members. Ultimately in preparing for future emergencies we need to make sure that CBOs are at the table and not reinvent the wheel. Furthermore, senior centers could have been utilized to distribute information, host testing and vaccination sites, as well as contributed by providing culturally-sensitive meals.

Jenny Low

First, nonprofits must get paid for the promised funds by the city. We know the human service nonprofits have been providing the life saving work to deliver meals, conduct wellness and mental health calls and continue critical social services during the pandemic. Some like Hamilton-Madison House and CPC have been successful working with local meal delivery programs like ReThink and HeartOfDinner.

It’s important that we follow meal delivery models that work. The city in its rush to provide culturally sensitive meals in the midst of pandemic decided to hire Uber drivers to deliver meals. What the drivers did was to drop off bags and boxes of meals in building lobbies only to be wasted because no one knew why they were there. It was a waste of taxpayer dollars and the needs were not met.

I want to replicate the ReThink Food model in my District. We can work with ReThink and partner with local CBOs and restaurants to provide prepared meals and get them delivered to seniors who sign up. Again, ReThink provides, through private donations, free meals to CBOs. The CBOs determine the needs. At Knickerbocker Village, ReThink has provided anywhere from 1000 meals per day at the height of the pandemic to 450 meals still today. Working with HMH, the seniors get regular wellness calls and can sign up for other programs like pantry boxes. ReThink works with a group of committed volunteers to get the meals picked up from local restaurants and provide the last mile door to door delivery to seniors and families in need. We should replicate this model across the City.

Susan Lee

Tiffany Winbush

Firstly, Senior Citizens should reopen with the necessary precautions COVID-19 in place. As mentioned, other entities have reopened and our Senior Centers can do the same. Now that we have an idea how emergencies can impact our centers, it's important that we establish a plan now that can be employed should there be future emergencies.

8. With 1 in 5 New Yorkers over the age of 60, what are the changes you would seek to make to create a more age-friendly district? Please consider addressing the physical infrastructure of your district (walkability, accessibility, etc.), health care access, safety net resources, and other district specific items of note.

Maud Maron

As I have mentioned, there is a severe shortage of elevator accessible subway stations. This is an issue that affects not just my district, but the entire city, and it must be addressed. Specific to my district, I think there is a distinct lack of green areas and park space in lower Manhattan. And the park space that does exist along the river mostly resides on the other side of a busy motorway (the West Side Highway). I believe that we must protect and expand the easily accessible green space in our district to make the area more walkable and accessible.

Gigi Li

CD1 has narrow streets, and several non-ADA accessible subways, we need to take a comprehensive look at accessibility and work across agencies to address current shortfalls. Furthermore, with transportation deserts, fully funding buses is essential. Also, as e-bikes and e-scooters become more popular, and CD1 connects all three bridges, safety around speed or e-bikes/scooters continue to be a topic of great concerns for seniors.
I support expanding geriatric health services and in particular expanding the budget for geriatric mental health services. Additionally I believe in universal healthcare, for all New Yorkers age safely no one should be denied healthcare based on immigration status or ability to pay.
Models that allow people to age in place are the future of senior housing. I support looking into implementing programs like this in CD1.
In CD1, and in many other parts of the city, language access continues to be a serious problem when it comes to providing services to aging community members. I will advocate to maintain and expanded resources to improve language access. Additionally we need creative solutions about how to reach aging community members in general, especially as services and programs change as part of COVID recovery.

Jenny Low

People are living longer and our older populations are growing. The average life expectancy today is about 78 years old. By 2050, it’s projected that the population age 65 and older will be almost double what it is now.

As the number of older adults increases, we need to make sure that our communities are age friendly. My priorities include creating a community where older persons can easily stay connected with others and remain independent; providing social services, including meal delivery, adult day programs, and caregiver support, with a focus on meeting the changing needs of the frail, disabled, and homebound older people; expanding transportation options like Access-A-Ride, Fair Fares, taxis vouchers for seniors and promoting walkability and accessibility given the crowded streets shared with cars and bicycles; enhancing wellness and greater access to health, mental health, and home health care for seniors; expanding efforts to promote access to information for non-English seniors, including an effective communication system reaching community residents and focusing on oral and printed communication accessible to older people and immigrants; and increasing civic engagement efforts, including intergenerational initiatives and opportunities for meaningful volunteering and paid work that benefit older people and people of all ages.

During the pandemic and demands of social distancing, it's clear that open streets are a good solution so pedestrians can safely walk without having to dodge cars and other people. We have an opportunity to reimagine not only how streets can be closed but opened up for walking and biking that also prioritizes the ability for people to spend time outside and do it safely, particularly for areas that lack open space and parks. Another solution is to close down entire areas. For years there’s been talk of closing down the Financial District to through traffic. Pedestrians have to contend with narrow streets, narrower sidewalks, and with heavy pedestrian traffic. Closing off vehicles from entering into the area will enhance walkable open streets for everyone. I want to work on a vision to promote these ideas when I’m at the City Council.

Creating and maintaining an age-friendly environment is essential for the success of an entire community. We are all aging, and it’s necessary to recognize the factors that improve the lives of older populations of today and for generations to come.

Susan Lee

There needs to be more green spaces in my district. Although there are two large parks in my district, the Hudson River Park and the East River Park, it is not accessible to seniors because both parks are separated by the highways. As the weather warms up, seniors would like to take advantage of it and sit outside to relax. We need to plant more trees in the district to provide shades and also have more benches for seniors to rest on. We need to ensure that bus stops are not too far apart for seniors to get to and that there are bus shelters with benches for them to sit on while they wait for the bus. My office will work with CBOs to inform seniors regarding their free annual Medicare health screening and also work with healthcare providers on early detection and preventative measures. To that end, I will work with healthcare providers to screen seniors for food insecurities and connect them with CBOS that will enroll them into SNAP.

Tiffany Winbush

I believe in establishing 15-minute communities. These are communities where everything a person needs is within 15-minutes of their home. That means easily accessible supermarkets, public transportation, doctor's offices and recreational activities.

9. In the event of a budget shortfall, how would you push for the City to close the gap? Are there agencies or programs you feel should or should not absorb cuts? Please be specific.

Maud Maron

Instead of gutting any particular program or department, I would look for areas of concrete misspending in the case of a budget shortfall. There are enormous areas of waste in our city budget. And yet, when faced with a financial crisis, our Mayor and our City Council have slashed budgets of entirely necessary programs in favor of spending on politically flashy projects. For example, while the city slashed sanitation funding, children's art education, and non-profit support, the budget for THRIVE NYC has now exceeded $1 billion despite the program continually failing to deliver mental health programming or necessary services to help our most vulnerable New Yorkers—the long term homeless. For $1 billion, New Yorkers should see actual results. NYC cannot afford this kind of inefficient and ineffective spending

Gigi Li

I’m proud of the work I have done to advocate to keep social services funded but it's clear that Bloomberg chose to cut social services during crises. While I don’t think that we can afford to make cuts to any social service agencies I think there are a few ways we can budget more effectively. The first is making sure that state and federal money makes it to the organizations, and ultimately people, that it is intended for. I support borrowing when needed to prevent cuts to social services. We can also provide better services and save money by being selective about the for-profit providers we contract with. For example the GetFood program could provide better quality food and potentially save money by working with local restaurants and other food sourcing options.

Jenny Low

It’s clear we need to find new sources of revenue. I support a millionaires tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers. The city already has a “mansion tax” for home sales of $1 million and greater. We should also create a “multimillionaire’s tax.” To further leveling the playing field, I would support an “inheritance tax” that requires wealthy heirs to pay income and payroll taxes on the inheritance they receive above a sizable lifetime exemption and a pied-a-terre tax on second homes. We should explore any other progressive tax methods that can work toward making sure that the wealthy pay their fair share during this time of crisis. However, I will not support additional burdens on our middle class or small businesses. We cannot add on additional fees and summons to the City’s coffers. We need to consider additional taxes and borrowing to make up the shortfall.

I will continue to push a cut of $1 billion from the NYPD budget that is substantive, not symbolic, cuts that would make a difference in advancing racial justice and curbing the size and power of the NYPD. I also want to revisit the capital dollars set aside for the building of four new large Borough based jails. We need to close Rikers because it is an inhumane institution that is emblematic of the systemic racism of our criminal justice system. But we should not simply replace one big jail with four small ones; we must fundamentally change our approach to criminal justice and move away from the incarcerate-first mentality that has destroyed so many lives and harmed our communities. Instead, we need to look much more at root causes of crimes, whether it's poverty, lack of community support, lack of mental health care or addiction treatment, and give people the tools they need to become productive members of their communities. We do not need or want a jail built in Lower Manhattan; I want to stop the Mayor’s 4 borough jail plan and focus on helping communities rise rather than finding new ways to keep them down.
With NYPD and capital budget cuts, we could re-allocate budget to fund comprehensive community social service programs including workforce development and youth programs, and senior programs.

With more than $1 billion in reallocation, we could make a bold investment in older adult services to meet the growing needs of the largest population of older adults in the City’s history. We must increase funding to the Department of Aging (DFTA). DFTA’s current budget does not support the overwhelming needs of the aging population, including delivery of culturally nutritious meals, digital literacy, safe senior centers and expansion of NORCs. We must increase the budget to support these and new innovative initiatives that address wellness, social isolation, intergenerational programs and support for caregivers. I am committed to work with colleagues at the City Council to make this budget upgrade a reality.

I won’t support cuts to DFTA and to the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) which runs programs, including Beacon, Cornerstone, School’s Out New York City (SONYC), and Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Beacon and Cornerstone are afterschool and summer programs for youth and adults that provide assistance with academics and college prep. And, I want the budget to restore funds promised to human service nonprofits so they can continue to serve the most vulnerable in our community.

Susan Lee

As demonstrated in this year’s budget, funding for Department for the Aging is usually cut during a budget shortfall. I will advocate for the restoration of those funding so that programs and services to seniors are restored. Currently, there is planned construction of a borough-based jail in my district, with four slated to open in each borough except Staten Island. The total construction cost of the four borough-based jail is estimated to be $9 billion. I strongly believe this money is better used to provide quality education to our children, programs and services for our seniors and healthcare access to the needy. The new jail under plan is situated next Everlasting Pine HDFC, a senior citizen affordable housing complex. The construction will create a host of issues for the seniors and the neighborhood, including construction and noise pollutions, quality of life issues, traffic congestion and lack of access to the sidewalk-creating an obstacle for seniors.

Tiffany Winbush

We should never cut funds to social services that are meant to support seniors, as well as kids and youth. They are the most vulnerable in our society. I advocate that we do a complete review of the budgets of all agencies to confirm where there were inefficiencies and opportunities to save money.

10. How should your constituents look to measure your success in achieving your responses outlined above?

Maud Maron

My constituents should evaluate if their quality of life improves during my tenure. They should evaluate whether my office and I listen to and register their concerns and priorities, and if my words align with the actions I have taken. If they believe I have accomplished these things, I will feel as though I have succeeded.

Gigi Li

Constituents will be able to measure my commitment to supporting older New Yorkers through how I designate my capital and expense funding, the legislation I support and fight for, and the advocacy work I engage in. I commit to continuing to regularly check-in with aging advocates on legislative ideas, budget priorities, and work together to hold the mayor accountable to the growing and diverse aging population.

Jenny Low

My constituents should expect for me to communicate my priorities on the first day at the City Council and for continual assessment with regular scheduled town halls and constituent outreach so they can help qualify whether I am meeting my priorities.

Susan Lee

Some of the above responses will take time to play itself out. However, never doubt my commitment that I will work tirelessly to advocate for seniors in my district. I’ve worked with nonprofits for most of career and that experience will translate well for outreach and engagement with seniors will start immediately once I take office. I will fight to reinstate the budget for Department for the Aging at the level promised prior to covid.

Tiffany Winbush

As a City Council member, my success should be measured based on if Seniors are getting their needs met. Are Senior Centers reopened? Are more Seniors able to age in-place in their homes? How we provided broadband access for Seniors to connect with their families? These are all vital tactics that we have to address immediately.

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