Seniors move to the basement to make way for the kiddies in Carroll Gardens
In a sign of the times, a national franchise called Kidville has taken over the Eileen Dugan Senior Center at 380 Court Street in Carroll Gardens. The senior center, funded by the city, couldn’t meet the landlord’s request for more money, so the seniors are moving to the basement.
“The landlord had repeatedly asked the city for more money,” Assemblywoman Joan Millman told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “The city has a cap, however. They arranged for the new kids’ place to take the top floor; the seniors retain an office on the second floor and the base of operations has been moved down. There is an elevator, and the floor is being redone with a new kitchen,” she said.
“Not all the seniors are terribly happy,” she added. “It’s smaller; they’re not happy about that and I don’t blame them. The seniors consider the center their home.” The basement portion of the building is not open yet due to technical issues, Millman said, so some of the seniors are going to nearby centers, “But they want to go where they know everybody and everybody knows them. I hope it’s soon.”