Day: September 4, 2025

After months of uncertainty, the United Senior Center of Sunset Park (USC), which was on the verge of closing after the landlord demanded a rent increase of more than 70% for a new 10-year lease, is set to reopen Sept. 8. Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes and Council Member Alexa Avilés secured more than $1 million in city and state funding to keep the center afloat.

Avilés, whose district includes Sunset Park, told Brooklyn Paper that $500,000 from the City Council and $600,000 from the State Assembly “saved the day” for the 53rd Street senior center, which has been closed since the end of June.

“[USC] is also a legacy organization in our community. The fact that they would be in such a precarious situation is deeply unfortunate,” Avilés said. “We’ve got to find ways to protect our important institutions and protect our older adults.”

While the building’s owner, Amy Grabino, did not make any concessions on the rent increase, the goal was to keep the center open and minimize disruption for the more than 4,000 seniors who visit each month.

“It’s been a hard two months since operations were interrupted. [The seniors] have obviously been going to other centers trying to stay active, but they are desperate to go back to their home, and they are very excited,” Avilés said, describing the center as a “lifeline” for older adults.

The 10,000-square-foot space is the largest multilingual senior center in Sunset Park and has been a community staple for more than 50 years. In addition to providing vital resources such as meals and recreational activities, it also offers referral services, health insurance guidance, and social security counseling.

To ensure seniors return to a welcoming, refreshed space, the Sunset Park Business Improvement District launched a GoFundMe to cover the cost of painting and floor repairs.

David Estrada, executive director of the BID, told Brooklyn Paper that in addition to the GoFundMe campaign, the organization contributed $1,000 “behind the scenes” for paint and tools.

“Because we have a little bit of a platform, we can run these fundraisers, and when we do that, we always do it the same way. There’s no administrative fee. We don’t take a cut. We just do it for love,” Estrada said. “Everything we net from the fundraiser is delivered directly to the recipient.”

Estrada described the uncertainty surrounding the center’s future as an emotional roller coaster.

“It’s not just a room where people get some meals. It is just a guide star of community service,” he said. “It’s representative of a generation of Sunset Parkers. It’s like this cultural crossroads, because some of the people are Puerto Rican or Dominican from years gone by, families that have been here for three generations. Some are recent Mexican immigrants, some people are Chinese. It’s just this open arms for the community.”

Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday he does not want Republican President Donald Trump to get involved with “my race” for mayor, but would not condemn the possibility of the commander-in-chief offering Mayor Eric Adams a job to drop out of the contest — a move that would likely benefit the former governor.

Cuomo told reporters during a Sept. 4 news conference on Manhattan’s Upper West Side that he has “no idea” if several Wednesday reports that Trump has offered Adams a job in his administration in exchange for quitting the mayor’s race are “accurate.” Trump’s team is also weighing offering Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa a position, according to The New York Times, which first broke the story.

The former governor, a Democrat now running as an independent, insisted he does not want Trump’s help with his own candidacy, but declined to say he is against the president interfering with Adams’ or Sliwa’s.

“I don’t want him involved in anything with my race,” Cuomo said. “What Eric Adams chooses to do is up to Eric Adams. What Curtis Sliwa chooses to do is up to Curtis Sliwa.”

When amNewYork pressed him further on whether he would condemn such an action by Trump, Cuomo said, “I have nothing to do, it’s none of my business.”

“I decided to run in some races. I decided not to run in some races. That was my personal decision. Everybody has to make a personal decision,” he added.

Cuomo stands to benefit the most from Adams, who is also a Democrat on an independent line, dropping out of the crowded race, as he is polling in second place to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani — a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member who handily beat Cuomo in the June Democratic primary.

Mamdani is polling at under 50% support in most surveys for the November general election. The anti-Mamdani vote is currently split between Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa — therefore, getting those candidates to consolidate behind the strongest contender would be the best chance at overcoming the Democratic nominee.

Cuomo maintained the reports are “speculation” that he knows “nothing about.” He added he has not spoken to the president since at least summer, after a shooter tried to assassinate Trump on the campaign trail.

“I haven’t spoken to President Trump about it, I haven’t spoken to Mayor Adams about it and it’s speculation,” Cuomo said.

Mamdani has accused Cuomo of working with Trump behind the scenes to clear the field for his own benefit. His allegation stems from reports last month that Cuomo and Trump spoke over the phone about the race and that he predicted the president would push Republicans to vote for him over Sliwa during a Hamptons fundraiser.

Adams slams Times for report

Meanwhile, Adams — during an unrelated Thursday press conference — denied both the Times story and a Politico report that Trump’s administration specifically offered him a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also took the opportunity to bash the Times.

“I’m surprised how standards of reporting at The New York Times have fallen so much,” Adams told reporters. “I’ve never asked for a job with HUD. I’ve never been promised a job with HUD. I have not communicated with the president. What I must do is what I have always said: stay focused, don’t get distracted by the sensationalism, run our city and keep it safe, and run for reelection.”

For his part, Sliwa said a job in the Trump administration is something that “I am not interested in, I don’t want.”

“I’m not leaving New York City,” he added. “I’m running for mayor as the Republican candidate.”

With reporting from Dean Moses.

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