LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending Homecrest Community Services, Inc.
upon the occasion of hosting its Annual Gala Celebration, The Chinese
Lunar New Year 4713

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body, in keeping with its
time-honored traditions, to recognize and pay tribute to those organiza-
tions which foster ethnic pride and enhance the profile of cultural
diversity which strengthens the fabric of the communities of New York
State; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend
Homecrest Community Services, Inc. upon the occasion of hosting its
Annual Gala Celebration, The Chinese Lunar New Year 4713, "The Year of
the Ram" on Friday, March 6, 2015, at Jing Fong Restaurant, New York,
New York; and
WHEREAS, Homecrest Community Services, Inc. (HCS) is a non-profit
corporation which provides community-based, multi-social services for
senior citizens, immigrants, children and families living in southern
Brooklyn; and
WHEREAS, HCS was established in 1997, as a grass-roots effort by local
residents to help meet the urgent need for social, health, public bene-
fit and other essential services by the rapidly growing, and greatly
underserved, Asian-American population who moved to Sheepshead Bay with-
in the past decades; and
WHEREAS, In 2004, HCS opened a satellite Senior Citizens Center in
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn which is the first Asian-sponsored senior center
of its kind in the area; and
WHEREAS, The HCS membership has grown from 300 members in 1997, to
more than 3,000, members in 2007, most of whom are Chinese-Americans who
immigrated to the United States from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and other
southeast Asian countries; and
WHEREAS, The Homecrest Community Services Centers are non-denomina-
tional and open to all seniors 60 years or older, regardless of race,
religion, ethnicity or other characteristic; and
WHEREAS, Remaining true to its mission, Homecrest Community Services,
Inc. improves the lives of Asian-American, immigrant and otherwise
disadvantaged persons, and enables them to achieve greater self-suffici-
ency; and
WHEREAS, In addition, bilingual (Chinese and English) and bicultural
services are provided to help the targeted clientele overcome language,
cultural, financial, social, health and other barriers to full partic-
ipation in society; and
WHEREAS, Homecrest Community Services, Inc. offers numerous programs
for seniors, some of which include, congregate hot lunches tailored to
meet Asian dietary needs, health and wellness promotion, arts and
crafts, tai chi, ping pong, mah-jongg, bus trips, ballroom dancing,
cultural events, voter registration, English as a Second Language class-
es, and U.S. citizenship and immigration/refugee assistance; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, in 2005, HCS launched a program called Social
Adult Day Care (SADC) for Chinese-speaking elderly, with support from
the New York City Department for the Aging, to assist frail and phys-
ically challenged elderly, who would otherwise be homebound, participate
in daily senior center activities; it is the first time ever that a
Chinese senior center in Brooklyn received approval to establish this
type of program; and
WHEREAS, SADC seniors are provided round-trip transportation from
their homes to the HCS Senior Center where they participate in arts and

crafts, physical therapy sessions, music instruction, and other activ-
ities in a bilingual and bicultural supportive setting; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of this Legislative Body to honor those
organizations of significance which add strength, vigor, and inspiration
to the cultural diversity and quality of life in the communities of this
great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Homecrest Community Services, Inc. upon the occasion of hosting
its Annual Gala Celebration, The Chinese Lunar New Year 4713; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Homecrest Community Services, Inc.