One of my favorite things about being supervisor of our town is interacting with our wonderful, community-minded town residents.
Our seniors make up almost 25 percent of the town’s population. During my first year in office, I have had the opportunity to meet with so many senior groups from all corners of our town.
I have been struck by how engaged in local government our seniors are and how they truly care about our community.
The senior population of the Town of North Hempstead has done so much to build our town into one of the most desirable places to live and retire in America.
I believe an important element of being town supervisor is serving all the people, including our seniors who made the town what it is today. It is a priority to continue to provide seniors with all of the outstanding services and programs that the Town of North Hempstead’s Project Independence senior program has to offer.
I am pleased to state that our 2015 budget, unanimously passed on Oct. 29, is a balanced and fiscally conservative plan that stays under the New York State tax cap, qualifying most taxpayers for a tax rebate on their New York State taxes.
Most importantly, it does not impact any services or programming.
Our Project Independence Program will continue to be a national role model by providing numerous benefits that seniors have come to enjoy, including free transportation to the supermarket, discounted transportation to medical visits, social work services, exercise classes, a handyman program, and more.
As always, the goal of Project Independence is to allow our seniors to age in place comfortably and remain in their familiar surroundings near family and friends.
As we continue to hear stories about baby boomers who are now becoming seniors, having to move off of Long Island, we are steadfast in our commitment to providing and building on these meaningful services.
This is also why the town is in the process of supporting the creation of two affordable senior housing projects at the former Mount Olive Baptist Church property in Manhasset and at the former Grand Street school property in New Cassel. A recent addition to our lineup of senior services is the Project SAFE program, led by our senior program consultant John Ryan, and Department of Services for the Aging Commissioner Kimberly Corcoran-Galante.
This series of seminars is designed to educate seniors about the prevalence of scammers who try to part seniors from their money and include expert panels such as law enforcement professionals who are there to give seniors insight into some of the warning signs of potential scammers.
The program also features financial professionals as well as attorneys, and medicare specialists who can provide helpful information on how to manage and understand your finances as you age.
That is such a critical element of aging on Long Island that can be difficult and even scary to take on alone. These workshops have already occurred before the Williston Park, Great Neck, Herricks and Carle Place senior groups and will be ongoing in 2015 at many more locations.
The weekly Project Independence radio show will also feature a Project SAFE segment each and every week, which can be heard on WCWP 88.1 FM Fridays at 10 a.m.
I encourage you to log on to the town’s website at www.northhempsteadny.gov or call 311 in the town for information on dates for 2015 or call to have a seminar scheduled at your community facility.
We are proud of what Project Independence has accomplished but are always looking to do more.
Feel free to contact us by calling 311 with any ideas about how we can continue to enhance our senior services.
