SCHOOL HOLDS HOLIDAY FAIR
PS 199 is hosting a Holiday Boutique Fair on Saturday, Dec. 1. Over 30 vendors will sell clothing, toys, jewelry, crafts and other small gifts to benefit the school and victims of Hurricane Sandy. The fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria at 270 W. 70th St.

CITY ENDS GAS RATIONING
Mayor Michael Bloomberg lifted the city’s emergency regulation of gas purchases on Saturday, over three weeks after Hurricane Sandy crippled the city’s fuel supply.

The rationing, which went into effect on Nov. 10, restricted the sale of gasoline to cars with even-numbered license plates on even days of the month and odd-numbered plates on odd days (excluding taxis, buses and emergency vehicles).

Bloomberg and other elected officials initially thought that supplies would return to normal a few days after the storm, but damage to fuel refineries and shipping networks, in addition to the nor’easter that struck the city shortly after the hurricane, dramatically slowed repairs. At some stations, drivers had to wait for over six hours in police-monitored lines for fuel.

Critics of gas rationing were unsure it would make a difference, but according to Bloomberg, the plan was a success. “The odd-even license plate system not only significantly reduced extreme lines, but also eased anxiety and disruptions for drivers at gas stations across the five boroughs,” he said in a statement.

At the time of the announcement, about 85 percent of the city’s gas stations were operational, up from around 25 percent when the rationing was put into effect.

AUTHOR HOLDS BOOK DRIVE FOR SANDY VICTIMS
Combining her love for books and helping people, author and philanthropist Carol Hollenbeck organized Rebuilding Our Bookshelves, which aims to provide books to libraries, homes and schools damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Blake Harvey, founder and president of Lawrence Blake Group Intl. and promoter of Rebuilding Our Bookshelves, explained that the book drive will continue through Dec. 16. People interested in donating books can drop them off at the Renaissance Diner, 776 Ninth Ave. at West 51st Street any time of the day. In addition, people can also make a donation to the American Red Cross.
“People can drop off any types of books, because they can be donated to day-care centers that suffered damage and senior citizen homes,” Harvey said. He noted that once all the books are collected, Hollenbeck will reach out to local organizations where the books will go to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Hollenbeck actively donates her time to many causes on the West Side, and has also worked with victims of domestic violence. With her newly released book True Blondes, she has pledged to donate 25 percent of sales to advocacy groups that help these victims.

SENIOR CENTER REOPENS ON 42ND ST.
Project FIND, a nonprofit that provides housing and services to the city’s low-income seniors, held an open house last week at its new Coffeehouse Senior Center at the Holy Cross Church on West 42nd Street.

The center is a relocated version of the original Coffeehouse Senior Center, a project that began in 1971 for seniors congregating in the Port Authority Bus Terminal and grew into a full-time food program that provides seniors with breakfast, lunch and social activities. The $1.2 million relocation allowed Project FIND to create a space that is fully handicapped-accessible and includes a commercial-grade kitchen. According to the nonprofit, the additional room will allow them to serve 15 percent more elderly residents.

“While the community’s economic demographics are changing and upscale development is happening in areas once unthinkable, the needs of this community’s older adults remain the same,” said Project FIND Executive Director David Gilchrist. “This cohort will increase in lockstep with the aging of the Baby Boom generation.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn attended the open house and praised the center’s service to the community. “The Coffeehouse Senior Center is a valuable resource that serves thousands of seniors in my district,” she said. “The new facilities will bring together more people than ever.”

A few years ago, one of the residents of a West Side senior center began to sell their neighbors an alternative to Con Edison.

“They began to sell to them a different kind of lighting company,” said Micki Navarro, director of the Manhattan Valley Senior Center. “Well, it was all a scam. And they had to put a deposit down to get this.”

It wasn’t until one of the seniors mentioned it to one of the center’s social workers that they were finally able to start tracking the crime and looking for the scammers. By then it was too late.

“We traced it to somebody we couldn’t really trace,” Navarro said.

This isn’t an anomaly. Many elderly New Yorkers know the traditional safeguards to prevent pickpockets and burglaries. But, because they prey on trust, scammers can be much harder to avoid.

According to Ken Onaitis, head of the elder abuse department at the Carter Burden Center for the Aging, many scammers target the elderly, who can often be lonely or vulnerable.

Ageism is another reason scammers seek out senior citizens. Some see seniors’ physical or mental limitations as an invitation to go after them. Navarro said scammers target some elderly victims because of mental issues like depression, Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“Those people who commit the fraud, they know all of this,” she said. “They prepare. They do research and watch. They watch their prey and they attack when they know it’s the right time.”

Because scams can happen in person or by mail, phone or computer, there’s no sure-fire rule to avoid scams. But common sense is the best way to keep out of the crosshairs of con artists.

“If an offer sounds too good to be true,” Onaitis said. “It probably is.”

Here are some common scams to be wary of:

• While the mail is still used, email and computer-based scams are more common today. Never give out your social security number, bank information or other sensitive information over the Internet unless you absolutely trust the source on the other end. Even then, it’s good to make sure you verify as much as you can and never give money to people you don’t know.

• Phone scams are also common, according to Onaitis. Some scammers call dozens of people a day trying to gather sensitive data or sell fake products.

“The main thing is that if you get someone on the phone requesting information, trying to get information out of you, just hang up,” said Onaitis.

• According to Navarro, another common scam is those who wait until seniors receive social security money. When seniors go to withdraw money from ATMs, some people follow them home and try to sell them things.

• Make sure you feel comfortable with the person on the other side of the door before you open it. If someone says they are in a position of authority, always ask them for identification.

Navarro said that many seniors grew up when door-to-door salespeople were much more common. Some scammers take advantage of that trust to enter people’s homes. “They don’t know who they’re letting in,” she said.

The first thing anyone should do if they feel scammed is call the police in the precinct in which the crime happened. Many people are ashamed to admit they’ve been had.

Beyond the police, there are resources like the city’s Department for the Aging and community organizations like the Carter Burden Center, which help people respond to scams and go to court if necessary.

Still, prevention is much more simple than the cure. People should take simple steps to keep all personal information private and never give money to people based on a promise, because once scammed, it can be very hard to get the money back.

“Usually when the money’s gone, the money’s gone,” Onaitis said.