FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Tuesday, February 11th
CONTACT: press@liveon-ny.org
LIVEON NY, SEN. CLEARE, ELECTEDS, AND 35+ ORGANIZATIONS HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE URGING GOV. HOCHUL TO INVEST $123.3 MILLION IN NY’S OLDER ADULTS
ALBANY, NY — Today, at a press conference and rally held at the New York State Capitol, LiveOn NY, State Senator Cordell Cleare, State Senator Robert Jackson, Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia, Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, and a broad coalition of 35+ advocacy organizations launched the Age Strong NYS campaign. Age Strong NYS is calling on Governor Hochul and State leaders to invest $123.3 million to address the immediate needs of services with a focus on housing, food, and community support, for New York’s older adults.
New York’s older adult population continues to grow, but our systems and policies have not kept pace with the needs for care, affordable housing, consistent food and nutrition, and community infrastructure. Too many older New Yorkers face unmet needs, with waitlists for services and decades of underfunding for non-Medicaid care forcing many into poverty so they can access long-term care.
SEE ALL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS HERE
“Older New Yorkers deserve to have access to services and support to age in the communities they helped to build. Right now, our policies and systems are failing to keep up with basic services like housing, nutrition, and community infrastructure. We must change course,” said Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. “New York’s older adult communities deserve better. That’s why LiveOn is proud to lead the Age Strong New York State campaign, fighting for bold solutions that are popular, necessary, and good for the economy.”
“I’m an older adult, I’m 74 years young. The issue and concerns that impact you impact me and my wife,” said State Senator Robert Jackson. “We demand budget equity, we want to save lives and end waiting lists for aging services. We’re here to Age Strong NY, and I’m strong with you.”
“The best way to characterize the executive budget this year in regards to how it treats our older New Yorkers is to call it a downpayment, a modest downpayment, one that needs to be followed by many, many, many more payments. The State Master Plan on Aging was created 830 days ago — we don’t want to wait until it’s old enough to join AARP for it to be implemented and funded. We have the opportunity this year to do better by our seniors,” said State Senator Cordell Cleare.
“Seniors are the backbone of our communities,” said Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia. “They are our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors, and today, we stand here to say: ‘They will not be forgotten.’”
“I’m proud to join the Age Strong NY campaign’s call for increased funding to secure a stronger future for older adults,” said Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright, chair of the Aging Committee and sponsor of the Independent and Senior Housing Resident Freedom of Choice Act and other legislation to improve older adults’ quality of life. “Aging New Yorkers not only deserve an affordable and equitable city and state — they have earned it.”
“Thousands of aging, middle-income New Yorkers across the state continue to languish on waiting lists for in-home services – a situation that has persisted for far too long. The Governor and Legislature must prioritize their older constituents in the next state budget by investing in the programs that support family caregivers and enable aging New Yorkers to remain in their own homes, where they prefer to be. This approach honors the wishes of older New Yorkers to age with dignity in their own homes, while also saving the state hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in future Medicaid expenditures,” said Beth Finkel, AARP New York State Director. “ At the same time, a financial security crisis is looming for older adults across New York state. According to a report released yesterday by the Center for an Urban Future, a staggering 423,000 New Yorkers aged 65 and older lived below the poverty line in 2022 – a nearly 50% increase over the past decade. This report should be required reading for every policymaker whose decisions impact the quality of life for older New Yorkers.”
“New York State's 65 and over population are experiencing a fiscal crisis. As this cohort grows, more senior citizens are sliding into poverty as their income sources are not keeping pace with the cost of living. A significant investment must be made to ensure that there is an infrastructure that will efficiently address the unmet needs of what is now twenty percent of the population so that they can live in the community with dignity,” said Maria Alvarez, Executive Director of NY StateWide Senior Action Council.
“Older New Yorkers are the backbone of the state and local economies yet are continually marginalized and forgotten. Today, the Association on Aging in New York partnered with advocacy organizations and older residents to ensure that Governor Hochul's equity and affordability agenda applies to older New Yorkers and their caregivers. Aging services have been underfunded for decades, and it is time for New York State to support those who pay over 72 Billion per year in state and local taxes and who deserve to age with dignity, autonomy, and respect,” said Becky Preve, Executive Director of Association on Aging in New York.
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