Hundreds Attend Senator Carlucci's 7th Annual Senior Fair

Suffern, NY – Hundreds of seniors packed Rockland Community College’s (RCC) Eugene Levy Fieldhouse in Suffern for Senator David Carlucci’s 7th annual Senior Fair on Thursday.

“It has always been my mission to help seniors by making sure they are aware of services and programs, which could improve their quality of life,” said Senator David Carlucci. "It's important we help seniors with lowering the cost of prescription drugs, lowering property taxes, and making them aware of scams and elder abuse."

Senator Carlucci offered opening remarks at the event and was joined by fellow lawmakers.

“I’m delighted to participate in Senator Carlucci’s seventh annual Rockland County Senior Fair to discuss the importance of protecting and strengthening Medicare and Social Security benefits to ensure a safe and secure retirement, as well as raising awareness of scams that target seniors,” said Congresswoman Nita Lowey. “As Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue fighting for benefits seniors have rightfully earned after a lifetime of hard work.”

“Today is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the programs and services that can help older adults stay healthy, stay in their homes, stay active, and stay involved in the communities they contribute so much to," said Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee. I will continue fighting to protect their well-being by working to reduce the incidence of elder fraud and abuse, ensure prescription drugs remain affordable, and to preserve STAR and their well-deserved property tax relief." 

“I am happy to once again participate in Senator Carlucci’s Senior Fair. This is a great event that helps connect Rockland seniors with local, state, and federal services that folks may not even be aware that they can take advantage of," said Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski.  "It is a wonderful display of community as businesses, non-profits, and government come together to ensure our Seniors have every resource available to them. Seniors are the backbone of our community and I will continue to push for efforts that support them."

“Rockland Community College is committed to our seniors in Rockland County.  Fewer than half of the students at RCC come to us straight out of high school.  In fact, just about half of our students can be classified within the adult or senior population,” said RCC's Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Beth Coyle. “This is because RCC does not limit their offerings to general education for students looking to transfer to a four-year institution. RCC also offers lifelong learning opportunities to adults who may be interested in a second career or seniors who want to develop new skill sets or bases of knowledge. This is why our president, Dr. Michael Baston, has communicated with our College community that our commitment to our adult and senior population must be just as important as our focus on the students coming to us directly out of high school."

The free event featured about 100 vendors who offered seniors information on a wide range of recreational, health, legal, housing, and financial services.

The fair will also offered seniors a free speaker’s series to help them learn about health care, fitness, and financial matters.

Seniors were then treated to a ballroom dance class taught by instructors from Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Bardonia.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day was unable to attend the Senior Fair, but applauded the event.

“Seniors are a rapidly growing population; I just turned 67 earlier this month so I understand what they are going through. Events like Senator Carlucci’s Senior Fair are important to help connect seniors to County services like the Department of Health and Office for the Aging as well as to other state and local resources that can help them age in place and stay active in our community,” said Rockland County Executive Ed Day.

The senior fair has been hosted by Senator Carlucci’s office since 2012, and for residents who could not make it, they are encouraged to reach out to the Senator’s office for any related information.