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Photo caption: Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) presents check for $284,500 to representatives
from Selfhelp Community Services and Advisory Board Members of the Northridge, Southridge and Brulene NORC program.
On Wednesday afternoon, NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm was joined by Selfhelp Community Services Director of Government and External Relations Sandy Myers, NORC Advisory Council and Brulene Cooperative President John Melisdones, NORC Advisory Council Member Judy Grubin and other NORC residents at 33-04 93rd Street, Jackson Heights as he announced his allocation of over $284,000 in funding for the neighborhood’s Northridge/Brulene/Southridge NORC for Fiscal Year 2016. This funding accounts for nearly 100% of the NORC’s operating budget.
This announcement marks the second time Council Member Dromm has saved the program from closure following the city’s 2014 announcement that it would not fund the Northridge/Brulene/Southridge NORC. Council Member Dromm rallied with Jackson Heights seniors to effectively secure this funding that helps provide vital services to NORC senior residents.
Established in 1999, the NORC is managed by Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. and provides transportation, medical, counseling, financial management and long term care services to nearly 2,500 senior residents in four large cooperative housing complexes including the Southridge Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 (92nd and 93rd Streets between 34th Avenue and Northern Boulevard), the Northridge Sections 1, 2 and 3 (located immediately to the north on the opposite side of Northern Boulevard), and the Brulene (located on 34th Avenue between 93rd and 94th Streets). Throughout New York City, NORCs are apartment buildings/complexes where large numbers of people have remained and grown older in the housing they moved into as young adults, a phenomenon known as “aging in place.”
“This allocation of $284,500 will allow Selfhelp Community Services to continue to provide many free and low-cost services to seniors in the Brulene, Northridge and Southridge cooperatives,” said NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst). “Our seniors who depend on these quality services in order to live happy and healthy lives deserve nothing less. I am proud to have safeguarded the future of this vitally important program for the second time in a row. Protecting the NORC and all programing for seniors continues to be one of my top priorities.”
“I want to thank Council Member Dromm for his generous award to the Northridge/Southridge/Brulene NORC as well as for his ongoing work on behalf of this community,” said Stuart C. Kaplan, CEO, Selfhelp Community Services. “We are grateful for his support, which is vital to creating an active and engaged NORC community in Queens. We look forward to continuing to work together to provide our residents with fulfilling programming and the support they need to remain active members of their community.”
“On behalf of the residents, I would like to thank Council Member Dromm for his support of Northridge/Brulene/Southridge NORC,” said John Melisdones, NORC Advisory Council President and Board President of the Brulene cooperative. “The funding from last year was critical to allow us to continue our programming, and without it, we would likely not exist. I’d also like to recognize the office staff, Advisory Council, and one of our late NORC Pioneers, Mary Vavruska for their work and support to help the NORC provide such critical services.”
“Council Member Dromm’s long-standing support of the Northridge/Brulene/Southridge NORC has been critical to its success,” said Judy Grubin, NORC Advisory Council Member/ Community Liaison. “Without his funding, we would not be able to serve the seniors last year who are living within the NORC. I would like to personally thank him for his leadership and focus on serving the seniors in his district. His support allows me and my neighbors to live in a friendly, safe, and supportive community.”
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