Seniors living at the Prospect Park Residence assisted living facility have 90 days to pack their bags and find new digs, building management announced on Wednesday.
"Following more than 15 years of operation in Brooklyn, and after careful consideration and evaluation, the owners and operators of Prospect Park Residence have determined that it will surrender its operating license to the New York State Department of Health," building staff said in a statement [PDF]. "This was not an easy decision."
The company cited rapidly escalating costs and a nearly $1 million tax increase as the reason for its closure, adding in the statement that the option to remain open is "no longer viable."
Despite assurances that they will receive help finding new facilities, many of the building's 139 residents are livid at the abruptness of the decision.
“I’m very shocked,” 85-year-old Eli Pearce, a retired professor, told the Daily News. “We were not informed at all. Everyone is upset.”
Elected officials aren't pleased, either. Councilmember Brad Lander, Assemblymember Joan Millman and Assemblymember James Brennan released a strongly worded statement condemning the closure.
“To throw our elderly neighbors out on the street is cruel, heartless, and unacceptable," the statement read. “To force vulnerable residents to move at this stage of their lives, with little notice and without a transition plan, will, no doubt, have traumatic consequences for our elderly and frail neighbors. Many depend on consistent routine and familiar surroundings and may not be able to mentally or emotionally move to another facility.
“There is already a shortage of senior housing in our city—where does he expect them to go?"
