Margert in the News
New Hope for Shuttered
Senior Center in Far Rockaway
The Full Story
BY JESS WISLOSKI
Tuesday, October 9th 2007, 4:00 AM An infusion of $500,000 from a city official has rekindled hopes of reopening a
shuttered senior center in Far Rockaway, but its future remains murky due to a
lack of additional funding.
Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Far Rockaway) delighted senior citizens last
week by allocating the money from his discretionary budget to revamp the beloved
center at St. Gertrude's Parish.But even when it reopens, it will likely remain on a waiting list for city
operating funds, casting some uncertainty on its future, officials said.
That uncertainty, however, did not prevent local seniors from dreaming up a wish
list.
"It would be nice if we could get a van," said Sylvia Rosetent, 89, who said her
adult children had to shuttle her back and forth from her home in Valley Stream.
Joseph Barden, executive director of Margert Community Corp., which will fix up
the former gym with the money from Sanders, said a city contract would allow the
center to get shuttle vans.
"It's what we're aiming for," he said.
In 2003, the city decided not to renew a contract with Catholic Charities after
a routine inspection revealed structural damage. The charity ran the center five
days a week, with a full-time staff and shuttle vans.
A plan by the charity to open a new center elsewhere never materialized, seniors
said. Then funding from the city Department for the Aging evaporated with budget
cuts. That was bad news for Far Rockaway, which has many nursing homes, adult
homes and aging homeowners, Barden said.
"Those folks don't have a lot of options when it comes to entertainment," he
said.
The city is overseeing the construction work by Margert, a nonprofit
agency that serves low-income seniors and the disabled. Initial
funding limits repairs to roof and floor work, new windows and
infrastructure. Once complete, the center must compete for city
funding against five existing Department for the Aging centers in
Far Rockaway.
"Margert is not currently a sponsor, but could in the future
compete for a [contract] for a senior center," said department
spokesman Chris Miller. The city operates 325 senior centers at various sites, including at churches,
Miller said. A sponsor signs a three- or six-year contract, but must be open
first before it is considered for a deal. Sanders said it was his priority to
get the St. Gertrude's center up and running.
"We won't turn our backs on this," he said. "This center is
needed now more than ever."
The city closed Hammels-Seaside Senior Center at 90-01 Rockaway Blvd.
for structural damage in August. The center is looking at other sites,
said Miller.
jwisloski@nydailynews.comRead the story in
The Daily News
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BUSH ADMINISTRATION
ANNOUNCES $44.1 MILLION IN HOUSING COUNSELING GRANTS
The Full Story
For Release Thursday, October 4, 2007
WASHINGTON - Approximately 700,000 families will have a greater opportunity to
find housing or keep the homes they have because of more than $44 million in
housing counseling and counseling training grants announced today by Housing and
Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson.
Housing counseling grants will assist families in becoming first-time homeowners
and remaining homeowners after their purchase. Renters and homeless individuals
and families will also benefit from the counseling offered by the grants. These
grants, totaling over $41 million, were awarded to 19 national and regional
organizations and nearly 370 state and local housing counseling agencies.
Housing counseling training grants will help approximately 2,600 counselors
receive the instruction and certification necessary to effectively assist
families with their housing needs. These grants, totaling $3 million, were
awarded to two national organizations.
"This Administration strongly believes in the value of housing counseling
services," said Jackson. "These organizations help families make informed
choices before they take the important step of homeownership. They also provide
a service that is vital in today's mortgage market - they counsel families
facing foreclosure and advise them about their options."
Read the
Full Story
Margert is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.
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Margert Gets $500,000 To
Build New Senior Center
The Full Story
The Wave, October 12, 2007
by Miriam Rosenberg
The current senior center at St. Gertrude the Great is barely big enough to
hold the tables and those who attend it three days each week. That is just one
of the reasons that clients at the center were thrilled when Councilman James
Sanders Jr. showed up with a check for half a million dollars last week.
Sanders presented the check to Joseph Barden, the executive director of Margert
Community Corporation and members of the board of the Tessie Learning Center for
repairs to the gymnasium next door.
"When the Department For The Aging [DFTA] said the gym was no place for it [the
senior center], you stayed together and created a community," Sanders told the
seniors on October 3.
"There is a clear need for these services in the Rockaways. We are becoming an
aging community here. We need centers for our use."
Barden told The Wave the $500,000 would go toward turning the gym into an
expanded senior center.
"For the short term we want to reestablish a full-service senior center
here," said Barden.
Margert will apply to sponsor the center once the renovation is completed.
Further down the road, Barden said he envisions a place where young people can
take part in sports.
"We'd like to restore it to its original condition, and maybe have the
opportunity to have sports and basketball for local kids," continued Margert's
executive director.
The gym was built in 1961. Barden believes the floor began to sink sometime
within the first 10 years after being laid down. Margert is using the gym now
for its Home Repair and Training Program, but the goal is to return it to the
way it once was.
Barden is not sure how far the $500,000 will go.
"The estimate for the floor four years ago was $200,000 plus," explained
Barden. "We want to do the windows, the interior and exterior doors, the roof,
the envelope of the building and return it to a usable facility. I'm hopeful we
can do the bathrooms and kitchen, but I don't know how far it will go."
Sanders said he hopes the $500,000, which came from his
discretionary fund, is not the end of his allocation to the senior center.
"If you need more money, I am going to try to find more money," said Sanders,
who added he was already working on obtaining extra funds for the project.
Hank Otero, a center board member, remembers when a senior center used to
occupy the gym.
"At the time the city wanted to close it because of finances and Catholic
Charities wanted to move, so it made it easy to close," said Otero.
DFTA will oversee the renovation of the gym.
"DFTA would prefer to manage construction even though we have a long record,"
Barden explained. "We have to run all plans past them."
Sanders talked about the importance of the center to the church and its late
pastor, Father Brendan Downing, who passed away in July.
"The senior center fits in with the mission of St. Gertrude's and was an
important part of the mission of Father Downing," said Sanders after the
presentation of the check. "We're looking at the work like a legacy to him. It's
an added incentive to get it done."
Read the story in
The Wave.
top^ Margert Joins the ENERGY
STAR® Change a Light, Change the World Campaign
The Full Story Margert Community Corporation is participating in the ENERGY STAR® Change a
Light, Change the World Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to save energy and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging consumers to switch to ENERGY
STAR qualified lighting products such as compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).Take little steps, such as
upgrading your lighting to ENERGY STAR compact fluorescents (CFLs),
using power strips on seldom used electronics products and
upgrading holiday lighting to energy-efficient LED lights, and generate big
savings.
Join Us! Pledge to make these energy saving actions a habit in your home and help to save energy, the environment, and the world!
Margert is a NYS DHCR Weatherization Assistance Program
service provider and a NYSERDA partner in low income energy affordability programs.
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