Brooklyn seniors could lose 50-year-old community center as landlord mulls 70% rent hike

Seniors in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood say they fear many members of their community will face isolation and be left vulnerable if the center that’s served them for 50 years closes up shop — with its landlord trying to raise the rent by 70% when the lease ends this June.

More than 250 people packed into the United Senior Center of Sunset Park for an indoor rally on Friday, denouncing the rent hike and saying they’ll lose a beloved resource if landlord Amy Grabino and the city can’t come to terms soon. The seniors said they rely on the center for multilingual social services, socializing and daily meals, and could be left without somewhere else to turn.

“ I know that she's the owner and she has the right to increase the rent, but just taking into consideration our seniors, we’re here for 51 years in this community,” Executive Director Grisel Amador said. “This place means a lot to them, it means their second house. It means the house is outside of their own apartment.”

Officials estimate that seniors visit the center, which is funded by the New York City Department of Aging but independently run, more than 40,000 times a year. It provides social workers, a kitchen serving breakfast and lunch, and activities like dominoes, mahjong, dancing and exercise machines.

Councilmember Alexa Aviles led the rally on Friday, calling for Grabino to agree to negotiate further and lower the rent on the upcoming lease. She was joined by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilmember Justin Brannan, along with other community leaders.

“ When you mess with a space like the United Senior Center, you aren't just messing with the dedicated people who run it. You are messing with the older adults who thrive,” Aviles told the crowd. “They're messing with you, right? So we will not take this situation laying down and we are going to fight with all that we can.”

Garbino did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

In a statement, the Department of Aging's Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez said while her agency looks to support senior organizations in their current buildings, “that support has only been possible when landlords negotiate in good faith and consider the needs of the surrounding community.

“In the case of United Senior Citizens of Sunset Park, the proposed 70% rent increase presents an impossible challenge. Increases of this scale make it extremely difficult for providers to remain in place and continue offering critical services,” Cortés-Vázquez said.

She said the agency was advising the United Senior Citizens of Sunset Park that runs the center of “all available options, including identifying a new location nearby.”

For regulars like Daysie Naclerio, 66, the Sunset Park center is an invaluable source of community.

“ We play together, we dance together, we do everything together,” Naclerio said. “We’re learning how to sew — they teach us everything. And we don't want this place to close.”

After Friday's rally, the senior center came alive for its 51st anniversary celebration. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house — regulars sat down for a lunch of rice and peas, roasted pork, macaroni salad and broccoli. A live band played cumbia and the dance floor filled up. Games at the domino and pool tables started up, and went on for hours.

Josephine Rodriguez, 91, has been visiting the center with her husband, Cristobal Rodriguez, 93, from Park Slope for almost a decade.

“ It's very special because it's a place where all the people can get together and even if they don't have a party or something like that, we can chat and meet people,” she said. “There’s not too many places that, especially these days, that you can go with seniors — this is a great one.”

Amador said the center is examining all options to stay open, including asking the city for more funding.