ALBANY, NY – Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced today that Colonie Senior Service Centers (CSSC) has been awarded a $70,000 grant through the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center’s (NADTC) cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).  These funds will allow CSSC to expand critical transportation services for a diverse population of older adults and individuals with disabilities in the City of Watervliet and the Village of Menands.

“For too long, older Americans and Americans with disabilities have often lacked access to the safe, affordable transportation options they need to access employment, healthcare, and other needed community services,” Congressman Tonko said.  “This award represents an important step toward the expansion of these critical services here in our Capital Region.  With this infusion of federal funding, Colonie Senior Service Centers will be able to expand its own transportation services to diverse communities where they have identified the greatest need, specifically in the City of Watervliet and the Village of Menands.  I’m proud to have helped secure this crucial funding, and I’ll continue my work to support seniors and individuals with disabilities here in our Capital Region and beyond.”

“As the largest nonprofit provider of senior programs and services in New York’s Capital Region, Colonie Senior Service Centers, Inc. is thrilled to have been chosen as one of seven recipients from around the country to receive NADTC funding,” said Diane Conroy LaCivita, Executive Director of Colonie Senior Service Centers.  “The funding is subsidizing the expansion of our transportation services to both the City of Watervliet and the Village of Menands.  We recognize that having safe, reliable, door-to-door transportation for our seniors is key to getting them out of their homes and keeping them active and engaged in the community.  Additionally, enabling seniors to once again be mobile contributes to our region’s economic vitality.”

In April, CSSC was one of 9 grantees selected to receive a competitive planning grant from NADTC to engage with diverse older adults, people with disabilities, and community partners to identify current transportation needs and to develop a written plan of action to address those needs.  After finalizing the planning process in September, CSSC was selected as one of 7 grantees to move on to the implementation phase.  NADTC’s Equity and Accessibility Mobility Implementation grants help engage diverse local populations and target areas with high need in order to strengthen connections between transportation and human services programs, and create practical, accessible solutions other communities can adopt.