New York City will pay for renovations and repairs at dozens older adult centers throughout the five boroughs.

It's the first time the City Council has used its discretionary budget to put aside a pool of money for infrastructure at facilities that seniors depend on for food, classes, assistance with social service programs and community.

City lawmakers allocated $5 million for fiscal year 2025-2026 budget to make centers safer and more accessible, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced this week. The funds will go toward fixes and upgrades for at least 35 centers, including repairs to bathrooms, floors, HVAC systems, kitchens, accessibility improvements, appliances and furniture.

Older adult centers — funded through the Department for the Aging, along with a mix of sources including state government funds, federal grants, and donations — have struggled to secure funding to update their buildings, according to Allison Nickerson, executive director of LiveOn NY. The senior services-focused nonprofit worked to advocate for the centers to receive the money from the Council.

Typically, they must apply to the city for capital improvement projects, but that process is meant largely for major work, can take years and often doesn’t address routine fixes many of the city’s 300-plus centers need, she said.

“ Many of them have crumbling infrastructures in ways that would defy logic when you think about New York City's budget — we're talking about peeling paint, a cooling centers that don't have the right HVAC, places that need upgraded bathrooms to be ADA accessible,” she said. “Things that are $20,000, $30,000 — get a new refrigerator, fixing a toilet that hasn't been working, adding grab bars, adding a ramp, they don't need a huge amount of review.”

Wai Yee Chan is the president and CEO of  Homecrest Community Services, which runs several centers in South Brooklyn, including one in a 5,000 square-foot space that until now has been one large room. She said the center will soon receive $13,000 for partitions to break up the space, finally allowing for more programming.

“This is a very essential infrastructure upgrade and will allow us to divide the large open area into smaller multifunctional spaces,” she said. “Our single space limited our ability to sort of simultaneously host diverse programs such as exercise, craft, dancing, health screening, and social gathering.”

The money has already been allocated, but centers will receive it on a reimbursement basis. Centers must spend the funds on their projects before the fiscal year ends next June.

Adams, the Council speaker, said investing in older adult spaces is crucial as the city’s senior population continues to grow.

“Seniors are the jewels of our communities, and it’s critical that we invest in the resources and services that meet their needs,” she said in a statement. “With New York City’s older adult population growing, and essential benefits for our seniors under attack by the Trump administration, it remains vital that our city steps up its support for our elders.”