PASCACK VALLEY AREA, N.J.—The pandemic and a dreary winter? No problem.
The Thomas J. Riley Senior Center is reopening, with limited capacity, on May 3. And its friends at Celebrate Westwood are cheering the news, calling it a win for seniors and the borough.
The center’s program director, Marisa Tarateta, told Pascack Press on April 14, “We are offering tai chi, brain games, chair yoga, healthy eating/nutrition group, exercise with the Booty Busters, Zumba, music therapy, and meditation. We are also offering our lunch program, for take-out only. Come by for a class and pick-up lunch as well.”
Tarateta said the center—based alongside Meals on Wheels of North Jersey at Westwood House, 100 Madison Ave. but serving all active, independent seniors 60 or older or persons with disabilities—also received a Community Development Block Grant through Bergen County for MERV-17 air filtration systems throughout the facility.
She said guests will have their temperature taken on arrival, masks are a requirement to enter the center, and maximum capacity is 20 people per program.
According to Tarateta, the center has been closed to the public since October 2020 due to the weather.
“We were offering all programming outdoors from May–October. When the weather became too cold, we had to close again. As you know, it’s been a roller coaster. Now, we are finally ready to open for both indoor and outdoor programming for good,” she said.
Tarateta expressed delight in being able to resume offerings. Certainly our readers can expect to hear about new and innovative programming heading into spring and summer, and we look forward to bringing you their volunteer spotlights.
And let’s not forget lunch, which the center offers for a nominal donation of $3.50. Menu items include meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies, fresh breaded flounder served with spring vegetables, egg salad on rye with pasta veggie salad, and pastosa ravioli bolognese with sweet sausage and salad. All meals are served with juice and fruit or pudding.
Pick-up of meals is available to patrons from the take-out goodie window. Delivery is available to all Westwood House residents. Catering, said Tarateta, is from “the famous La Casa Formoso.”
‘An invaluable resource’ for seniors and the borough
The news of the center’s return was welcomed by Celebrate Westwood, which describes it as “an invaluable resource in the Westwood community, bringing opportunities to senior residents to engage in social, fitness, and creative activities for very low or no cost.”
CW volunteer organizer Lauren Letizia told Pascack Press on April 14, “Celebrate Westwood has partnered with the Riley Center since 2019 to bring events like the Outdoor Ice Cream Social and pop-up music events directly to their attendees and looks forward to being able to do that again soon.”
She said, “In addition to the forthcoming in-house programming of the Riley Center, seniors can look forward to safely attending offsite events such as the upcoming Celebrate Westwood and Westwood Public Library cosponsored Lunch on the Lawn (May 22) and the spring/summer Arts on the Avenues series, particularly the Arts Amble (June 12), which will feature music and artist demonstrations, both in Veterans Memorial Park.”
Letizia said, “As we’re emerging from this year of Covid-related shutdowns and gathering restrictions, we celebrate the resilience of our seniors, many of whom were forced into protective seclusion without the technological resources that the younger generations clung to as pandemic lifelines.”
She said, “For many seniors, learning to Zoom or FaceTime with friends and family, navigating digital grocery delivery services, or managing vaccine registrations through online portals was an unexpected challenge to which they rose with grace.”
Letizia said she and her fellow organizer RoseAnn Ciarlante “celebrate their resilience and adaptability, as well as the countless volunteers who stepped up to offer their time, talents, and resources to make shopping trips, sort food pantry donations, schedule inoculations, or simply to reach out to a senior neighbor.”
Noting the nicer weather and introduction of vaccines, Letizia said, “We celebrate the obvious rise of the number of seniors seen out and about, strolling through town, conducting their errands, or enjoying a lunch with friends downtown. There are clear signs that the vaccination rates of our seniors has increased tremendously and with that, great bit of heartwarming hope. We can’t wait to see smiling eyes again at the Riley Center.”
RESOURCES:
- Call Thomas J. Riley Senior Center at (201) 666-0840 to request a menu, reserve your meal, and register for programs. If weather allows, classes will take place outdoors. For more information, visit tjrileyseniorcenter.com.
- For more information on Celebrate Westwood, and to sign up for its free monthly newsletter, visit celebratewestwood.org.
- Also see Westwood for All Ages, an initiative to make Westwood an age-friendly community—a place where all people can live well and thrive even as they age.