Manhattan: Gov. Hochul’s focus on affordability is welcome news for families across New York, including the rapidly growing population of older adults struggling to remain safely housed, healthy and connected in their communities. We thank the governor for continuing to elevate the needs of older New Yorkers and for advancing proposals that recognize aging as a core part of New York’s future.

Across the state, far too many older adults are living on fixed incomes while facing rising rents, health care costs and the escalating price of food. Well over one-third of senior households in New York experience housing insecurity, and advocates estimate that as many as half of older New Yorkers face some level of food insecurity, trends that are unsustainable for a state that values dignity, fairness and opportunity at every age.

Last year’s rollout of the Master Plan for Aging marked an important shift in recognizing older adults as a vital population. We are particularly encouraged by the governor’s commitment to accelerate affordable housing through an additional $250 million investment, building on her five-year, $25 billion Housing Plan that is already ahead of schedule. For older adults living on fixed incomes, affordable housing with supportive services is not just shelter; it is health care, stability and dignity.

Combined with renewed investments in aging-in-place models like naturally occurring retirement communities, non-medical in-home services and the CAPABLE program, these initiatives will help ensure older New Yorkers can remain in their homes and communities, contributing to a stronger New York for all of us. Gayle Horwitz, CEO, Jewish Association Serving the Aging

Freeport, L.I.: Responding to Voicer Robert Brennan urging U.S. citizens protesting ICE crackdowns to go to Iran to support Iranian demonstrators for human rights, I further encourage Christian Nationalists to go to Iran to witness firsthand what happens in theocracies, where one religion’s “word of god” becomes the law of the land. Travel tip for........

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