On Wednesday, June 11, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz attended a City Hall rally to protest a plan by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to eliminate senior centers and community centers. The cost-cutting proposal could threaten100 senior centers and Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) programs funded by the Department for the Aging (DFTA), 46 senior centers directly operated by NYCHA and 90 community centers staffed by NYCHA. In addition, all nonprofit programs that receive free or low-cost space from NYCHA will have to renegotiate their leases. 
41 of the NYCHA senior centers affected are in Brooklyn, which has more residents in their ‘maturer years’ than any other borough.
“Our seniors, the ones who built this city and lived, worked and raised their families here, deserve to be cared for in their golden years,” said BP Markowitz. “Senior centers are a basic need for many communities—they are centers of life. Shutting them down will cut a lifeline for thousands who rely on the networks and services they provide.”