PUBLISHED BY MOSHOLU PRESERVATION CORPORATION

Center's Doors Open, and Seniors Are Delighted

By HEATHER HADDON 

For Ann Mancuso, it's the simple things that make her happy to finally be inside the Sister Annunciata Bethell Senior Center. "We're going to have air conditioning this summer," said Mancuso while waiting for lunch in the spacious, and climate-controlled, center on East 204th Street in Bedford Park.

But prying the center's large glass doors open for its eager constituency was a Herculean task. After a never-ending series of contracting problems, the center finally was able to occupy the new building earlier this month --  a full year and a half after seniors, staff and elected officials came together to celebrate its opening.

Other seniors probably agree with Mancuso as they sweated through last
summer without air-conditioning while temporarily housed in the Bedford Park Congregational Church on Bainbridge Avenue. The center migrated there, and to two other locations prior to that, after a devastating fire gutted their original headquarters in the parish center of St. Philip Neri Church in 1997.

"It was frustrating for us to wait, but it was especially frustrating to the people in charge," said Mancuso, who lives near Briggs Avenue. "They tried every which way."

The center's contracting problems were especially egregious, according to Joe Gordon, an aide to Council Member Oliver Koppell who got involved after center staffers hit a brick wall in their efforts to open the building.

The impasse on the $2 million project centered on a dispute between the general contractor and the subcontractors. When it couldn't be resolved, the general contractor abandoned the job without completing it or paying the subcontractors, who in turn stopped working.

Resolving the matter was particularly difficult because the contractor was not bonded --  or legally held for completing the work --  according to Gordon, who's done building work in the past. "I've never heard of this in my life for a project of this size," he said.

While the issue was eventually settled with the subcontractors, the center has retained a lawyer to recoup the money given to the general contractor, according to Gordon. After working out an agreement with the Fire Department, Gordon handed the center's director, Patricia Burlace, a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) at 4 p.m. on April 6. By that evening, Burlace and other staff were on the phone spreading the good news among the seniors. Just two days later, they had a crowd of over 60 for lunch.

And more keep coming. Seniors are greeted by a volunteer and assigned a place card for one of the circular tables in the main dining room, which is airy and bright with tall ceilings. "I'm thinking about adding another lunch period," said Burlace, who has directed the center for five years.

There are plenty of offerings besides the nutritious, and gourmet, lunch (a recent menu included pepper steak and oriental vegetables). In the spacious basement, there are exercise and yoga classes, games and crafts, and discussion groups on current affairs. The pool table has proven especially popular with men, according to Elizabeth Donnelly, the center's social worker.

Seniors also have access to entitlement programs and counseling both at the center and at home for those who can't get there. Transportation is also available, and the center is fully wheelchair accessible.

For many local seniors, the center is a safe space. "It's my second home," said Maria Fabregas, who lives on the Grand Concourse. Fabregas is afraid of taking the subway alone, but hates staying in all day. "I get depressed when I'm alone, so I come here," she said. Burlace was relieved to see another senior finally make it into the center. "She was wandering the streets to stretch out the day," Burlace said.

Eileen Coleman comes all the way from Woodlawn for the companionship and the inviting surroundings. "It's clean and very modern," she said.

With the roominess offered by the new center, several seniors have volunteered to offer additional programming. One man wants to lead tai-chi classes, and a Korean senior --  who is one of a growing number of Koreans who are regulars --  already gives free manicures on Fridays. "I want them to do what they want," Burlace said. "It's their center."

While the staff is thrilled to finally be inside their building, they still face challenges. The TCO expires in July, and becomes permanent only after some final safety regulations are approved by the Fire Department. "It's a pain in the neck, but it will get done," Gordon said.

Burlace also needs to raise more funds to meet the needs of her much larger facility and growing constituency. "We are in a new building and the costs are different," she said.

But as she floats between the tables of seniors to chat, Burlace is optimistic. "It's taken a long way for us to get here, and we're focusing on the future, not the past," she said.

Ed. note: The Sister Annunciata Bethell Senior Center, located at 243 E. 204th St., between Mosholu Parkway South and Valentine Avenue, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, and on Saturdays until the end of June. The center is also seeking donations and volunteers. For more information, call (718) 365-3725.

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