Encore Community Services Responds to Mayor's FY 2027 Executive Budget: No Major Cuts, But Flat Funding Leaves Gaps for Older New Yorkers
For Immediate Release
May 18, 2026
Contact:
Lauren Braithwaite, laurenb@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-7183
Jeff Simmons, jeff@anatgerstein.com, 917-673-0024
(New York, NY) - Jeremy Kaplan, Executive Director of Encore Community Services, which provides older New Yorkers with services to help them live independent and dignified lives, issued the following statement in response to the Mayor's FY 2027 Executive Budget plan:
“The Mayor's FY 2027 Executive Budget sends an important signal that older New Yorkers remain a priority. Encore is glad to see that the proposal does not include substantial cuts to core aging services, and we appreciate the Administration's continued recognition of Older Adult Centers, home-delivered meals, care coordination, benefits assistance, and other supports that help New Yorkers age with dignity.
At the same time, for providers on the ground, a flat budget is effectively a cut. Food, delivery, staffing, insurance, utilities, repairs, and other basic operating costs continue to rise. Maintaining last year's funding levels does not maintain last year's capacity; it forces community-based organizations to do more with less at exactly the time demand from older New Yorkers is growing.
The most urgent gap is nutrition. Older adults need reliable meals seven days a week, not only on weekdays. Homebound older New Yorkers cannot pause hunger, medication schedules, or health needs over the weekend. The City must fully fund 7-day-a-week home-delivered meals and ensure that Older Adult Centers and meal providers have the resources to meet growing demand without relying on unsustainable fundraising or emergency stopgaps. Every day without reliable meals increases the risk of isolation, hospitalization, and premature institutionalization.
Encore applauds the mayoral administration's focus on housing and its efforts to reform and cut through the bureaucracy that delays construction. Those reforms are vital, and they must be paired with dedicated support for older adult housing, because creating housing faster only matters if it reaches the people with the fewest options.
Yet, the budget must treat safe, affordable housing for older adults as essential aging infrastructure. Our city has too few affordable, accessible, and supportive housing options for older New Yorkers, and the limited stock that exists cannot meet current need. We must move aggressively to increase housing stock, including supportive housing models that pair homes with services, so older adults can remain in the communities they helped build.
As negotiations continue, we urge the Mayor and City Council to strengthen this budget by funding 7-day-a-week meals, covering the true cost of delivering services, investing in repairs and infrastructure across Older Adult Centers and home-delivered meal programs, and accelerating the creation of affordable and supportive housing for older adults.
New York City cannot call itself affordable or equitable if the services and housing that help older adults live with dignity and independence remain underfunded. Older New Yorkers need stable centers, reliable meals every day of the week, safe and accessible spaces, and housing options that allow them to age at home and in community.”
About Encore Community Services: Encore Community Services empowers older adults to thrive in the communities they call home. Through nutritious meals, engaging programs, and meaningful social connections, Encore supports older New Yorkers in living independently - with dignity, purpose, and respect. Our work spans vibrant community centers where hundreds gather daily, home-delivered meals for those with the greatest need, comprehensive care planning and case management, and supportive housing initiatives. Across all services, Encore ensures that older adults remain nourished, engaged, safely housed, and deeply connected to their communities. Learn more at https://www.encorenyc.org.