WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Seniors from a local center in danger of being ousted after four decades took to the streets last week to demand the landlord allow their "second home" to remain.
Dozens of seniors gathered in front of the ARC XVI Senior Center on 4111 Broadway Friday afternoon to demand that the center’s landlord, Christ Church United Methodist, renew their lease for 10,000 square-foot basement space dedicated to seniors.
The space, equipped with tables, kitchen and rooms for health and wellness workshops, provides an essential service to those who have come to depend on it, said executive director, Fern Hertzberg.
“We have about 5,000 [seniors] come through our doors for social services,” Hertzberg said, adding that they conduct four to six activities per day, including ESL classes, dancing, health and wellness, arts and culture. Their seniors range from 65 to 104-years old, she said.
According to Hertzberg, the administration from Christ Church United Methodist sent her a letter in April notifying her of their intent to not renew the lease agreement, which expires at the end of the year.
Hertzberg said she received the letter shortly after notifying the church of her plans to remodel the space with the $62,000 the center received in funding to renovate the space.
“At first I wanted to cry,” Hertzberg said, “but then I started to contact everyone we know in the city for help.”
Christ Church United Methodist did not respond to a request for comment.
Longtime Washington Heights resident Ramon Rosario, 73, said he’s been visiting the center daily for over a decade.
“This is very important to us,” he said in Spanish. “We come here because we like to get together, and we understand each other. If they take this space away, we’re going to suffer a lot.”
Angiolina Frias, 63, has been volunteering at the each Friday for five years, and said she feels losing the center will cause a great deal of pain to the seniors in the community.
“A majority of the people that come here feel alone,” Frias said. “They come here mostly to enjoy each other’s company, to have someone listen to them, acknowledge them.”
State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and several other officials and nonprofit leaders said they support the center and are committed to fight to ensure that it be allowed to remain open.
“We demand that the church renew the lease immediately,” Espaillat said at the rally, adding that his office assigned funding earlier this year to support the center’s transportation services to seniors.
“This center has been chosen as one of the best in the city,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been used as a role model citywide on what it is – as a center – that not only provides opportunities and quality services to our seniors.”
Hertzberg said it’s going to “throw ourselves at the mercy of the court” as the battle continues, as well as seek out other organizations to share space and resources as they “figure out what to do.”
“For us, let’s negotiate, let’s renew – let’s make it happen,” Hertzberg said. “You should be serving seniors and we’re all about serving seniors – so let’s serve them.”
