Last week, staff at Tolentine Zeiser Senior Center in University Heights began clearing out their offices. 

They took the pictures off the walls; they filled several cardboard boxes with Christmas lights and other supplies they’d accumulated over the years; and they readied themselves for Wednesday, June 30, which was scheduled to be the center’s last day of operation.

Tolentine was one of 50 senior centers in the five boroughs that the Bloomberg Administration had slated for closure, because of cuts laid out in the city’s 2011 budget.

When they heard the news last month, seniors at Tolentine were devastated. “I was very sad,” said Migdalia Granado, 76, of Sedgwick Avenue. “A lot of the women were crying.”

But last Thursday night, the unexpected happened. Approximately half of these centers were handed a reprieve when Bloomberg and City Council speaker Christine Quinn struck a deal to restore funding.

Chris Miller, a spokesman for the city’s Department for the Aging, was unable to confirm which of the 50 centers had been saved, because he hadn’t received final notification from the Council, which was expected to vote on the city’s spending plan as the Norwood News went to press. 

Councilman Fernando Cabrera says both Tolentine and R.A.I.N. Bailey, a senior center in Kingsbridge, will stay open. He says he convinced Quinn and her staff that the two centers must not be shuttered.  “To be honest with you, when it came down to it, I was just stubborn about it,” Cabrera said.

There are only five senior centers in his west Bronx district, while some Council districts have several times that number, said Cabrera, recalling the argument he made.  Plus these centers pull in good numbers, with 60 to 70 seniors attending each day, he said.

Cabrera said about $140,000 was restored for Tolentine for the next fiscal year.

Yesterday morning a group of about 50 were sitting at tables inside Tolentine, chatting amongst themselves, or playing bingo, dominos or cards. The center, which is open weekdays, also offers a $1 lunch, as well as various workshops and activities, from health informational sessions to belly-dancing lessons. “This is like a second home for them,” said Elizabeth Sanchez, the center’s director.

“I have a grandmother who is 102 years old. [She] speaks to me often about loneliness,” Cabrera said. “And the way to defeat loneliness is through meaningful relationships, and that’s what these senior centers provide.”  

Cabrera said he’s already concerned about 2011. “Next year is going to be the real challenge because next year’s budget is going to be even worse,” he said.