Age Strong Campaign & Advocates Applaud Senate for Aging Services Funding in One-House Bill

Aging advocates commends the State Senate for recognizing the urgent needs of older New Yorkers by including funding for aging services in its one-house budget proposal.

Across New York State, the network of community-based aging services is facing enormous strain. These programs help older adults remain healthy, independent, and connected to their communities, and in many cases, they are quite literally lifesaving. Legislative funding will make a meaningful difference for the providers and older adults who rely on these services every day.

While the need far exceeds the resources currently available, this proposal represents an important and critical step toward stabilizing a system that millions of older New Yorkers depend on.

The Governor’s Master Plan for Aging laid out a clear roadmap for strengthening services for older New Yorkers. A plan of this urgency cannot sit on a shelf. It must be backed by real investment.

We appreciate that the Senate and Assembly have included an increase to the New York State Office for the Aging’s Target Inflationary Increase; we are however concerned that the Assembly included no additional funding for Proposal 50 of the Master Plan for Aging in its one-house budget proposal. There is still time in the budget process to address this gap. At a time when Medicaid and many safety-net services face uncertainty, New York must continue investing in the programs that allow older adults to age with dignity and independence – and at a fraction of the cost compared to the Medicaid program.

We urge the Governor and Legislature to work together to ensure these critical investments are included in the final enacted state budget.

More about the Age Strong coalition can be found at www.liveon-ny.org/age-strong.

Contact: Brandon Vogel, 518-806-5432

LiveOn NY Responds To NYC Preliminary Budget

New York, NY – This week, the City of New York released its Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget. While we recognize the significant fiscal challenges facing the City, this proposal falls far short of meeting the urgent and growing needs of older New Yorkers.

We acknowledge that this budget rectifies previous lapses in policy by formalizing commitments to Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA) and by codifying Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) expenditures as line items, ensuring that frontline providers will receive the funds they have been promised in a timely manner. 

However, the budget still fails to include the critical new investments in aging services called for by the Age Strong NYC campaign and desperately needed by older New Yorkers. Older adults are confronting rising rents, food insecurity, and too often a crisis of isolation; now, more than ever, new investments are needed to ensure that we can all age in dignity.

“This is a defining moment for how New York City supports its aging population,” said Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. “We understand this is a difficult budget year, but older New Yorkers cannot afford to wait. We are ready to work with the new administration to secure bold investments in affordable housing, nutrition, and community-based services that allow every New Yorker to age with dignity. Our priorities are aligned: making New York City affordable and livable for all of us as we age.”

LiveOn NY’s Age Strong campaign is calling for $2.3 billion to fully fund aging services in New York City, including:

• Affordable Housing

• Funding to build new SARA housing, maintain existing HUD202 housing, and keep older New Yorkers in their homes with SCRIE

• Affordable Community Support

• Rebuilding centers across the city, growing our network of NORCs, and ensuring programs have the resources they need to serve their communities

• Affordable Nutrition

• Serving 1 meal a day to homebound New Yorkers and funding OAC meals which have not seen any funding increases since 2020 to meet food inflationary costs

More information can be found on the Age Strong NYC website: https://www.liveon-ny.org/city-advocacy 

More information on LiveOn NY can be found at our website: www.liveon-ny.org/. 

If you would like more information, please contact Frank Shintaro McMullin, Communications Manager at LiveOn NY, at fmcmullin@liveon-ny.org or at (408) 620-0694.

Age Strong Coalition Says Older Adults Left Out Of New York Budget

The Age Strong Coalition, comprised of statewide service providers and advocacy organizations that support older New Yorkers and their families, is concerned that older adults are missing from the Governor’s fight for families.

Policies that support healthy aging, economic security, caregiving, housing stability, and access to essential services are vital to support New York’s rapidly aging population, particularly as the number of older New Yorkers living below the poverty line has increased 50 percent over the last decade.

From the Governor’s report, New York is in a strong financial position, yet disappointingly, funding for critical aging services remains flat, while 70,000 older adults, outside of New York City, unacceptably continue to languish on waitlists. There was a $3 million investment in developing the State’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA) since the Governor's Executive Order, but no new money has been granted to implement the recommendations. With more than 4.3 million caregivers in New York, this was a time for needed action to give relief to both families and their loved ones.

The MPA was a tremendous first step towards putting our older family members first. However, the current FY2027 budget fails to make good on the commitment; it must accommodate the proposals made by hundreds of aging advocates, approved by the governor’s staff at DOH and SOFA, and fully fund aging services.

The Age Strong Coalition remains committed to working with policymakers, advocates, and community partners to achieve the full implementation of the MPA. Older New Yorkers deserve nothing less.

Age Strong Coalition Calls for Full Funding of Governor Hochul’s Master Plan for Aging

The Age Strong Coalition, comprised of statewide service providers and advocacy organizations that support Older New Yorkers and families, aligns with the limited aging proposals put forth by Governor Hochul in her 2026 State of the State address.

As New York’s population continues to age, policies that support healthy aging, economic security, caregiving, housing stability, and access to essential services are increasingly important. 

The recent release of the State’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA) signified a deep commitment to supporting older adults and their families. The forthcoming budget proposals must reflect that promise.

The Age Strong Coalition remains committed to the full implementation of the MPA and working with policymakers, advocates, and community partners to achieve this goal.

"The State of the State included limited conversation and proposals for aging services" said Becky Preve, Executive Director of the Association on Aging in New York. "We are hopeful that the state of the state address that failed to acknowledge older adults and caregivers is not indicative of the executive budget. Governor Hochul needs to utilize her recently published Master Plan for Aging to fund aging services and supports in a meaningful way."

“AARP is encouraged by the affordability proposals included in today’s State of the State,” said Beth Finkel, AARP New York State Director. “We stand ready to work with the Governor and the Legislature to ensure the full implementation of the Master Plan.”

“Today’s remarks made clear that there is still significant work to be done to ensure New Yorkers can age with dignity,” said Allison Nickerson, Executive Director at LiveOn NY. “We appreciate additional N/NORC funding and SCRIE expansion among other proposals, but realizing the full vision of the Master Plan for Aging will require substantially greater funding. The state made a bold initial investment in creating the MPA, and we look forward to building on our momentum to move from plan to action.”

More about the Age Strong coalition can be found at www.liveon-ny.org/age-strong. 

LiveOn NY Congratulates Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani On His Victory

New York, NY – Last night, Zohran Kwame Mamdani won a historic election to be the 111th mayor of New York City. LiveOn NY issued the following statement:

“We congratulate Mayor-Elect Mamdani on his decisive victory following a moving campaign which spoke to anxieties all older New Yorkers face – that the city they helped build is becoming more and more unaffordable,” said Allison Nickerson, Executive Director of LiveOn NY. “In many ways, his aims are the same as ours: to make housing, nutrition and community affordable for older New Yorkers. We’re excited to work with his administration to ensure that New Yorkers can age in dignity.”

LiveOn NY’s Age Strong campaign is continuing its advocacy for New Yorkers at the state and city level, calling for bold investments in affordable housing, food and nutrition, and community infrastructure to allow New Yorkers to age in dignity. More information on LiveOn NY can be found at our website: www.liveon-ny.org/. 

If you would like more information, please contact Frank Shintaro McMullin, Communications Specialist at LiveOn NY, at fmcmullin@liveon-ny.org or at (408) 620-0694.