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Public Advocate Senior
Action Line
Answers to seniors' questions and complaints
(212) 669-7670
Department for the
Aging
Referrals to appropriate agencies to help solve a range
of problems
(212) 442-1000
Senior Centers
Located throughout the city, senior centers provide
are lunches, recreation, counseling and companionship.?
For the one nearest you, call the Department for the
Aging at (212) 442-1000.
Social Security's toll-free
number 1 (800) 772-1213
New York Foundation
for Senior Citizens
The ombudsman office will answer questions about health
care and long-term care.
(212) 962-7817 Case Management
(212) 962-7559 General Number
(212) 962-2720 Ombudsman Office
Medicare Rights Center
Hotline
Volunteers for this national not-for-profit advocacy
group counsel callers on Medicare issues.
(800) 333-4114 ext.1 Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
VNS Elder Care Services
VNS helps you get healthcare benefits, housing, in-home
and community-based services, counseling in money management,
and help with resource planning for long and short term
needs.?
(212) 463-9819 or (212) 463-9814 or 1 (800) VNS-6550.
Birth Certificates,
Death Certificates, and Marriage Licenses
You can get birth and death certificates, necessary
when you apply for some benefits by calling the Department
of Health's Bureau of Vital Records.
(212) 788-4520?
For information about
marriage licenses and domestic partnership certification,
call the Marriage License Bureau
(718) 816-2290 for Staten Island or (212) 669-2400x1
for other boroughs.
Help with Housing
The Department for
the Aging publishes booklets for each borough listing
housing options for senior citizens, including assisted
living, enriched housing, adult homes, public housing,
shared housing, Sections 202 and 8 housing and family-type
homes for adults. (212) 442-1000
The Home Energy Assistance
Program
HEAP helps pay fuel and utilities bills for people whose
monthly income does not exceed $1,006 for one and $1,356
for two. One grant is given a year, usually between
$40. and $315. Applications are available in November
and it is important to apply early since funds are limited.
(212) 442-1000
Senior Citizen Rent
Increase Exemption
SCRIE exempts senior
citizens from rent increases and allows landlords to
deduct the exempted increase from property taxes.? You
qualify if
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You live in a rent-regulated apartment
or a building subsidized in some other way.
-
You are 62 or older
-
Your income is $20,000 or less
-
Your rent is increasing to more than
1/3 of your household income.
You can get help filling out and following
up on your application from most senior centers and
elected officials' staffs. Call the Department for the
Aging for an application.
(212) 442-1000.
If you live in a Mitchell-Lama
building, call the Department of Housing Preservation
and Development.
(212) 863-8494
Senior Citizens
Homeowner Exemption
SCHE provides a tax
reduction of up to 50% for property owners who own and
live in a one-, two- or three-family home, a co-op or
condominium. You must be at least 65, with an income
of $27,900 or less. Apply to the Assessment Office in
your borough:
(718) 802-3560
School Tax Relief
STAR provides a reduction in the school portion of property
taxes for people who own and live in one-, two-, or
three-family homes, co-ops or condominium with an increased
exemption for senior citizens whose incomes are $60,000
or less. If you have SCHE you automatically qualify
for STAR and do not have to apply.?
STAR Exemption Office
(212) 361-8215
Help for Homeowners
These groups provide
technical and financial management assistance to elderly
homeowners. Some provide grants and low-cost home improvement
loans.
Neighborhood Housing
Services
Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant (718) 919-2100
Flatbush (718) 469-4679
Home ownership (Bklyn) (718) 230-7610
Staying Healthy
Medicare
Medicare covers all
senior citizens for basic hospital and medical services
beginning at the age of 65. Part A provides hospital
insurance, nursing home care, hospice care and some
home care.? There are no premiums, but there are deductibles
and coinsurance payments.
Part B provides supplementary
medical insurance for doctor visits, many lab tests,
durable medical equipment, ambulance transportation
and other costs. Part B is voluntary, and requires payment
of a monthly premium.
If you are 65 and apply
for social security, you are automatically enrolled
in Medicare.? You must apply for Medicare if you continue
to work past age 65.
If you do not enroll
in Part B, you will pay higher premiums if you change
your mind later on.? Call the Social Security Administration
1 (800) 772-1213 or
1 (800) MED-ICAR (633-4227)
Medicaid
Medicaid is for people
who cannot afford medical care.? To be eligible, your
income must be $612. per month or less, for one person;
$879 or less for a married couple. Maximum assets are
$3,550 for one, and $5,150 for two (excluding a burial
fund). Call the Human Resources Administration.
(877) 472-8411 or (718)
557-1399
Medigaps and Buy-ins
Several programs supplement
Medicare A and/or B by covering deductibles, co-payments
and other costs. Some are for low-income and disabled
people: Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMD) and Specified
Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries (SLMB).? The programs
open to all can be expensive.? Call the Human Resources
Administration
(718) 557-1399 or the
Department for the Aging at (212) 676-9423.
Mail Order Discounts
The AARP offers its
members a ?Members Choice? pharmacy program with discounts
for ordering drugs by mail (and also in participating
pharmacies).
(800) 456-2277 or www.aarppharmacy.com
Elder Pharmaceutical
Insurance Coverage
EPIC helps pay for
drugs for seniors over 65 with incomes below $18,500.,
for one, or $24,400 for a couple. You are eligible for
EPIC if you have any other insurance coverage for drugs.Call
the EPIC help line
(800) 332-3742
Getting Around
Public Transportation
Everyone over age 65 may ride all N.Y.C. Transit Authority
subways and buses at a reduced fare at all times. You
need one of the following kinds of identification:
-
Reduced Fare MetroCard
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Medicare Card
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NYC Department for the Aging
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Temporary Reduced Fare Card
-
Access-A-Ride identification card
For information about how to get a reduced
fare MetroCard, call (718) 243-4999
Access-A-Ride
Access-A-Ride is for people who unable to use the bus
and subway system because of physical disabilities.
You can get the extensive application by calling (877)
337-2017
Legal Help
Brooklyn
Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Office for the Aging (60
and over)
(718) 645-3111
Help for Abused Elders
Citywide
NYC Department for
the Aging (Elderly Crime Victim Resource Center)
(212) 442-3103
NY Foundation for Senior
Citizens Guardian Services
(212) 962-7730
Victim Services Agency,
Safe Horizon
(212) 577-7777 (24-hours)
Walk the Walk, Shelter
for Aging
(718) 433-0800
Alpha Omega Clinic
(drug and alcohol abuse)
(718) 433-2509
Brooklyn
Interfaith Medical
Center, Mobile Crisis Unit
(718) 935-7284
HRA/Protective Services
for Adults
(718) 237-7454
Manhattan
The East Side Elder
Abuse Prevention Project
(212) 879-7400
Victim Services Agency
(Harlem)
(212) 316-2100
West Side One Stop/One
Stop Senior Support Project
(212) 864-7900
HRA/Protective Services
for Adults
(212) 971-2858 or (212) 971-2710 or (212) 971-2864
Referral for general
abuse or impairment
(212) 630-1853; (212) 630 1868
Queens
Forest Hills Community
House
(718) 592-5757
Jamaica Service Program
for Older Adults
(718) 657-6500
HRA/Adult Protective
Services
(718) 523-1480
Staten Island
Community Agency for
Senior Citizens
(718) 981-6226
Staten Island Adult
Protective Services
(718) 720-2801
HRA/Adult Protective
Services
(718) 720-2800
Volunteering your Time
JPAC-Joint Public Affairs
Committee for Older Adults
A social action coalition that offers senior volunteers
a leadership training course. The volunteers mobilize
friends and neighbors to take action. Volunteers are
also needed for office work.
(212) 273-5262
Older Women's League
OWL is a national membership organization advocating
for economic, political and social equality for mid-life
and older women.
(718) 336-7356 Brooklyn Chapter
American Association
of Retired Persons
The AARP provides services and information for older
adults retired or planning retirement, including health
insurance, member discounts and financial planning help.
AARP also has a magazine and newspaper, social events,
a job hub program to help find employment and a speakers'
bureau.? Many of the programs are run and staffed by
volunteers.
(212) 758-1411
NY Gray Panthers
A coalition of age and youth, which educates and lobbies
for social justice and human rights issues
(212) 799-7572
Senior Action in a
Gay Environment
A wide range of programs for seniors in the lesbian
and gay community, including social events, bereavement
groups, creative writing, walking tours and long-term
planning. Volunteers may also visit the homebound and
do office work.
(212) 741-2247
Other Opportunities
Public Schools need
tutors and surrogate grandparents.? Call your school
district office for more information.
Most Hospitals
have volunteer programs and will welcome you.? Call
your local hospital.
Not-for-profits use
volunteers. Call your favorite charity or call RSVP
(see page 20).
Big
Apple Greeters show visitors to New York around
all the boroughs. You will be asked to take visitors
on walking tours of neighborhoods you know. Volunteers
who speak languages other than English are especially
in demand.
(212) 669-2896 or www.bigapplegreeter.org
Service Corps of Retired
Executives
SCORE, the counseling arm of the Small Business Administration,?
sends experienced executives to advise new small business
owners.? It also conducts workshops on related topics.
Volunteers must have been business executives or entrepreneurs.
(212) 264-4507 or info@scorenyc.org
or www.scorenyc.org.
The NYC Substate Long
Term Care Ombudsman Program uses senior citizen volunteers
to ensure that nursing home residents are properly cared
for.
(212) 962-2720
Mayor's Voluntary Action
Center is a clearing house for recruiting and referring
volunteers.
(212) 788-7550 or?
www.nyc.gov/volunteer
Retired and Senior
Volunteer Corps (RSVP) provides referrals to agencies
seeking senior citizen volunteers.
Going to School
High School Programs
The Board of Education
has a continuing education program throughout the city
for adults of all ages. Courses include computer skills,
English as a second language, literacy and GED.
CUNY
Senior colleges (four-year):
When space is available, people over 60 can audit courses
tuition-free at any of the four-year senior colleges.
Students do not takes tests or receive academic credit.?
Community colleges (two-year): Tuition-free when space
is available, but students may participate fully in
classes, doing homework, taking tests, and receiving
grades and academic credit.
There is an administrative
fee for both the senior and community college programs.
Call the admissions office at a college convenient for
you.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn College (Admissions)
(718) 951-5001 or www.brooklyn.cuny.edu
Kingsborough Community
College My Turn Program
(718) 368-5079 or www.kbcc.cuny.edu
Medgar Evers College
(718) 270-4900 or www.mec.cuny.edu
New York City Technical
College
(718) 260-5000 or www.nyctc.cuny.edu
Manhattan
Bernard M. Baruch College
(212) 802-2000 or www.baruch.cuny.edu
Borough of Manhattan
Community College
(212) 220-8000 or www.bmcc.cuny.edu
City College Quest
Program
(212) 925-6625 X229 or www.ccny.cuny.edu
Hunter College
(212) 772-4000 or www.hunter.cuny.edu
John Jay College of
Criminal Justice
(212) 237-8000 or www.jjay.cuny.edu
Other Colleges
and Programs
Manhattan
Columbia University
Life long Learners
(212) 854-9699 or www.ce.columbia.edu
Fordham University
College at 60
(212) 636-6372 or www.fordham.edu
(Fordham?s Adult Degree Program)
New York University
School of Continuing Education
(212) 998-7080 or www.scps.nyu.edu
School of Continuing
Education Plus
(212) 790-1352
Pace University Adult
Resource Center
(212) 346-1288 or www.pace.edu
Getting a Job
Department for the
Aging
Programs for men and women, 55 years and older, who
want to return to the workforce full or part time.
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Food Emporium Training Center
Prepares trainees for customer service sector jobs
and claims 100% job placement at the end of the ten-week
program.
-
Reise Restaurants Training Center
Consumer service sector jobs in food service, banking,
finance, tourism and retail.
-
Ageworks Computer Training Center
Teaches Windows, data entry, word processing and basic
use of the Internet.
-
Senior Community Service Employment
Program
Provides on-the-job training in community service
organizations. Participants receive per hour wages
and benefits.
(212) 442-1353 for
all programs.
New York Foundation for Senior Citizens
Senior Training and
Employment Program
STEP is a 20-week full-time program that teaches office
skills, typing, word processing, spreadsheets, business
English, math, resume writing, interviewing and job
search. The program is offered at two locations, both
in Manhattan.
(212) 369-5523
New York State Department
of Labor
The Older Worker Specialist
can refer you to a wide variety of programs.
(212) 265-2700 |
Find Brooklyn Senior Services
