Angry seniors and a summer newsletter
And I'm sorry I didn't send this on Friday, #82
It’s almost time
PROGRAMMING NOTE: I’ve been working on a new Summer & THE CITY newsletter that starts next Wednesday and I encourage (beg!!!) you all to sign up! We’ll be focusing on the fun parts of New York City through right after Labor Day, and it will be a nice addition to our usually very serious newsroom. I’ll be leading each edition and writing stories about the people, places, and things that make the summer here so amazing, with lots of help from my colleagues.
That means I may be sending this newsletter out less frequently this summer. (The emphasis is on may.) So don’t forget to sign up for Summer & THE CITY, and send me your favorite parts of summer in New York City. Is there a part of a park you love? Is there a person you' associate with the season you think should be profiled? Do you have any tricks to help keep sane and cool when there’s a week of 90-something and 100% humidity? Send them to me!
Now on to the news:
Older New Yorkers rallied outside City Hall this week to protest millions of dollars of cuts to the Department for the Aging’s budget, which they fear will force senior centers to close. DFTA said there are no cuts, but advocates (and the city’s own budget documents) show upwards of $80 million less in spending through fiscal year 2026.
Mayor Adams forced all city agencies to make cuts last year, but as some note, those percentage cuts hit harder for some agencies that are already getting a small percentage of city money.
“If you close the senior centers, where are they supposed to go? Stay home and do nothing and be bored?” one woman told me. “The next step you know is the cemetery.”
You can read more here.
This week I also wrote about an audit from the comptroller that found a popular food distribution company, Driscoll (of berry fame) over-billed the city by millions when it was contracted to deliver food to pantries and other distribution sites during COVID.
You can read more about that here.
📰 Other interesting stories 📰
FDNY commissioner hails passage of e-bike battery safety bill [THE CITY]
Learn about the booming house music scene in Astoria [NEW YORK GROOVE]
If your express bus is canceled, the MTA says blame the drivers [THE CITY]
👋🏽 Adams Administration Arrivederci 👋🏽
SBS Commissioner Kevin Kim
Top advisor Joel Eisdorfer
They both may go to Frank Carone’s firm [DAILY NEWS]
🗣️LISTEN🗣️
I spoke with a student producer of P.S. Weekly this week for an FAQ Off Cycle about their podcast, his sit down with Chancellor David Banks, and what we get wrong about young people in New York City. [FAQ]
Thanks for reading!