Riverdale Senior Services unveils renovated kitchen, expanding meals and community programs

After years of patchwork repairs and aging equipment, Riverdale Senior Services completed massive kitchen updates this month, the first phase of a sweeping renovation at the center.

The project is the opening step in a four-phase plan backed by roughly $350,000 from Council member Eric Dinowitz and Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz. The initial phase focused on rebuilding the kitchen, installing new flooring and furnishing the dining room, with additional work scheduled through the coming months.

For Tina Cardoza-Izquierdo, executive director of Riverdale Senior Services, the initiative is part of a long-term vision to better meet the needs of the older adults it serves.

Prior to the renovation, the center had not seen a full overhaul in roughly 20 years, she said, aside from incremental updates over time. The result was a space that functioned, but limited what staff could provide, particularly as demand for meals and services continued to grow.

“Now that we have this new kitchen, we have just really been able to change the way we’re providing food,” Cardoza-Izquierdo said. “We’re able to store much more food.”

The added capacity is already evident. Although the center has offered lunch for decades, it expanded breakfast service this month from one weekday to three, drawing roughly 35 to 40 people to each morning meal.

The upgrade comes amid persistent food insecurity among older adults in New York City and broader efforts to bring seniors back into communal spaces after the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic — pressures that Cardoza-Izquierdo said underscored the need to modernize the center.

To get by, RSS has had to adapt creatively in recent years, stretching limited resources to meet rising needs.

“We’ve had to figure out different ways to provide or expand services with the same amount of money,” she said, pointing to changes in vendors and sourcing strategies that helped make the breakfast program possible.

Inside the kitchen, new appliances and equipment have replaced outdated systems that staff had long worked around.

“We got a new refrigerator, new freezers, new kitchen equipment itself, like cooking equipment,” Cardoza-Izquierdo said. “So it’s really changed the dynamic of what we do.”

For Assistant Chef Kevin Everett, who has worked at the center for the last decade, the renovation resolves problems that once complicated even basic tasks. The previous kitchen had unreliable equipment, including an oven that heated unevenly, forcing staff to adjust cooking methods on the fly.

Now, with more space and modern tools, staff can plan menus more flexibly and expand beyond the typical offerings that once defined the program.

“We got plenty of space for all the orders that we do,” Everett said, noting that the team can now order more ingredients and experiment with new dishes.

The physical transformation extends to the dining room, where new furniture has created a brighter, more open environment. Cardoza-Izquierdo shared that the change was intended not just to improve appearance, but to make the space more welcoming and dignified for those who use it.

“Quite honestly, the older adults, they really have needed this new, renovated, renewed center,” she said. “It’s so bright and airy, it looks so much bigger, and it feels like something that they can be proud of. They’ve always been proud of the center, but now they really feel like this is a valued space.”

That shift has already begun to draw people back. Attendance has increased, and the center has seen a rise in new membership applications in the weeks following the renovation.

Rebuilding a sense of community remains a central goal. Many older adults, Cardoza-Izquierdo observed, are still hesitant to return to group settings after years of isolation.

“We want older adults to not isolate themselves in their home,” she said, describing it as an ongoing challenge that the center is working to address through expanded programming and improved facilities.

The first phase was supported by Council member Eric Dinowitz, who allocated $100,000 toward the kitchen renovation and new furnishings. Additional funding contributed to structural improvements throughout the center.

“When you have an institution like this, it’s really important that we support it,” he said, emphasizing the role of public investment in maintaining community spaces.

Upcoming phases of the project will continue to build on that foundation with $250,000 in funding secured by Assembly member Dinowitz. The next stage will focus on restoring the center’s terrace, which has been largely unusable due to deteriorating flooring. Once repaired, the space will be open to seniors during the warmer months.

“It’s really an opportunity for seniors to be outside in a safe environment,” Cardoza-Izquierdo said.

All four phases are expected to be completed this summer.

For Everett, the difference is already clear in day-to-day work. The kitchen is livelier, more functional and easier to navigate, a shift that has improved both morale and output.

“It brightens up the kitchen,” he said. “Before, the kitchen was like ‘meh.’ Now it’s so bright. It’s really amazing.”