“I signed the lease!” United Senior Center reopens

After a two-month shutdown, United, the largest senior center in Sunset Park, welcomes members back with events throughout September, starting 8 a.m. Sept. 8 at Fifth Ave. and 53rd St.

Threat of closure had loomed over the center all spring as it neared the end of its old lease and faced an unsustainable rent hike by landlord Amy Grabino. Days before the June 30 closure, Councilmember Alexa Avilés and Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes secured funding to cover the rent gap, and it looked like the center would stay open.

But when Executive Director Grisel Amador reviewed the lease, she found terms that would put the center on the hook for major repairs. She held off on signing, and the center closed. Negotiations continued through the summer while the center remained shuttered, but by mid-August a compromise was finalized and Amador confirms she signed the new lease.

“We got an excellent agreement,” Amador says of the deal, while bustling around her office.

When the center reopens, Amador will hang a yellow curtain out the third-story window so everyone knows United is back. Members and staff often wear bright yellow shirts at events and rallies.

The curtain will fly Monday, Sept. 8, when the center will distribute 300 Senior FMNP coupon booklets beginning at 8 a.m. Seniors can redeem the coupons for fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables on Saturdays at the Greenmarkets on Seventh Avenue by the park and Fourth Avenue at 60th St.

Meanwhile, Amador and her team are busy getting the space ready—making calls for additional funding, reaching out to members, and even hunting for the right window valances. “I am working on different projects at the same time,” she says, “but this is the only way that the center is running, you know?”

A food-package pantry distribution is set for Friday, Sept. 12, 9:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. And on Sept. 26 at 12:30 p.m., United will host a celebration with prizes, raffles, and music by Luis Olivo & His Trio, along with official acknowledgments for Avilés and Mitaynes.

Community support has been strong. Board treasurer Paquita Veltre donated $1,500 to help with cleaning the floors.

“Wax and everything!” Amador exclaims.

One member contributed tablecloths, utensils, and supplies. David Estrada, executive director of the Sunset Park Fifth Avenue BID, purchased the paint and set up a GoFundMe for additional improvements.

In the big room where United has thrown many dances, Assistant Director Suyapa Blanco-Hernández paints the support columns yellow so, she says, “when the seniors come back they can see our center has a new face.” For Blanco-Hernández, yellow is more than a signature color. “It means hope. It means a lot.”