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Jan. 12, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
Nearly $325,000 in funding to support senior services in Queens has been restored, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced Monday.
The funding, which had been eliminated from last year’s city budget, will be allocated to senior centers and home care service providers in Queens.
The funds are being allocated through the borough president’s discretionary Department for the Aging (DFTA) fund, which had been removed from the FY2021 budget — the city’s initial budget following the onset of the pandemic. Elected officials made the cut as part of the city’s efforts to tackle the anticipated budget crisis stemming from the virus.
“Our elders disproportionally bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Richards said in a statement. “From food and housing insecurity to isolation and the virus itself, which has proven to be deadliest for older individuals, the obstacles our seniors have faced these past two years are numerous.”
Richards said he has already reached out to senior service providers throughout Queens with regards to distributing the funds.
“I look forward to working with our senior service providers to help improve the lives of the more than 300,000 elders who proudly call Queens home,” Richards said.
