Mayor’s Drastic Cuts to Aging & Older Adult Meal Services at Odds with Aging Population
Proposed Executive Budget Also Fails to Recognize the Poverty Rate Among Older Adults
NEW YORK, N.Y. – AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel issued the following statement today in response to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ Executive Budget proposal:
“Older adults represent New York’s fastest-growing demographic, but the Mayor is proposing drastic cuts to NYC Aging and critical aging services, including funding for older adult meal programs.
"The City is not prioritizing the basic needs of our older adults, but it should be; New York’s 65-and-over population skyrocketed by 36 percent, and the poverty rate among older adults stands at 18%. At the same time, New York’s under-65 population has shrunk.
“NYC Aging, the City agency responsible for the delivery of older adult services, receives less than half of one percent of the City budget. And now, the mayor wants to cut that further. The Mayor called for 4 percent cuts to City agencies, yet the cuts to NYC Aging are more than double that of the proposed across the board cuts.
“Worse yet, the mayor is proposing more than $12 million in cuts to Home Delivered Meals and Older Adult Care Center Meals programs at a time when older adults face increased food prices, one in 10 older New Yorkers faces food insecurity, and many face huge cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. The meal rates the city currently provides do not even account for the true costs of providing a meal.
“Older New Yorkers built this city and made it great. Without sensible investment that reflects the growing shift in the population toward older residents, we will leave our city’s older adults behind.”
Contact: Erik Kriss, ekriss@aarp.org
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About AARP
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation's largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates, @AliadosAdelante on social media.
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