New York City Senior Centers Reopening Their Doors Once Again

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – On the road to reopening Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced senior centers in New York City are opening their doors once again.

The decision comes after seniors took to the streets in protest over the continued closures.

As CBS2’s Andrea Grymes reports, seniors have been rallying and calling for centers to reopen.

“We know our seniors have deeply missed and bore the brunt of this pandemic,” de Blasio said.

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Senior citizens can finally start coming back to senior centers in New York City. The mayor says, starting immediately, outdoor programs can resume. Starting June 14, indoor programming can resume, but physical distancing rules will still apply.

De Blasio says they cannot require seniors to be vaccinated, so the centers will be open to both the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Last month, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer led a rally, calling on the city to reopen the centers, which are lifelines for so many, but have been closed for more than year because of the pandemic.

Washington Heights senior Daniel Lipsman went to court last week to get the city to act.

“The people we’re talking about here are close to the end of their lives and they will be suffering. It’s been 15, 16 months they’ve been suffering,” Lipsman said. “The simple facts are, if you’re vaccinated, you’re safe. You’re safe.”

“We want to work out of an abundance of caution, because we understood our seniors were really bearing the brunt so that’s been the ethic guiding everything,” de Blasio said.

Lipsman says despite the announcement, he’s continuing with his federal lawsuit, arguing the centers should be open to the vaccinated with no restrictions.

from CBS New York https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/06/01/new-york-city-senior-centers-reopening-their-doors-once-again/
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