State Sen. Pedro Espada at Tolentine Senior Center last week (Photos: J. Fergusson)
UPDATE BELOW:
"¡Viva Tolentine!" shouted a beaming State Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. at Tolentine Senior Center last Friday.
He was there to meet and greet seniors and to formally announce what they'd all heard a few days prior: that the center, located in the basement of St. Nicholas of Tolentine church in University Heights, wouldn't be shuttered after all; that funding has been restored in the city budget at the last minute.
Espada was given a warm and enthusiastic welcome, and had a word and a hug for just about everyone. Never one to be shy, he danced with the spritely and willing, and even joined in a sing-along at one stage, shaking a pair of maracas above his head.
Tolentine's seniors are very fond of Espada, the center's director, Elizabeth Sanchez, told me. "He's been here many times," she said. "They know him." Plus, he invites them to luncheons and other events, she said, including a "senior appreciation" lunch he held in June at Eastwood Manor on Eastchester Road for about 800 area seniors.
At Tolentine, Espada gave a brief speech. "I know its easy for elected officials to try to take credit," he said. "But it was your campaign, you called our offices, you visited your city council person, you visited you assembly [member], you visited your state senator, you told the mayor, you will not close us down. And today we say, you did not close us down!"
