McKenzie describes liaison and escalation process for open tickets

To better monitor these repairs and determine which need to be escalated, the NYC Aging

and NITRA liaison, Agnes Mack, who is a senior director of community services, regularly reviews reports of open tickets and needs at individual centers.

Our goal is to create constant communication and open dialogue between our agencies to ensure that repairs do not languish

and needs are addressed quickly.

During repairs, if a center is closed for whatever reason, older adults at those locations will clearly know that they have other options for meals and programming at nearby centers or any other alternatives that best meet their needs.

When a repair ticket remains open, a second inquiry is made or a visit to the property manager takes place to escalate the complaint.

NYC Aging is then notified of a repeat issue and has the option to raise the issue to the NYCHA's Office of Public-Private Partnerships, where we regularly address issues with NYCHA facility staff and work toward a quick resolution for that center.

Because we are in NYCHA space, while NYC Aging may wish to fix an issue ourselves, we are not always able to do so and must rely on NYCHA to escalate it.

the matter further in order to remedy the situation.

We do much of that escalation through the NYCHA liaison at NYC Aging, who manages the process for meeting with NYCHA and ensuring that we appropriately escalate matters in order to avoid center closures or alterations to programming.

It is imperative that we monitor and respond quickly to repair issues so that there is no disruption to services for older adults.

Ultimately, this is really about the working relationship between NYCHA and NYC Aging.

The size of the portfolio within NYCHA spaces is too large to ignore the great need that older New Yorkers have in these spaces and experience on a daily basis.

And it is incumbent upon us to ensure that we maintain a productive working relationship between NYC Aging and NYCHA.