[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 135 (Thursday, October 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE BROOKLYN CHINESE-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION'S EIGHTH AVENUE 
               SENIOR CENTER ON ITS SIX YEARS OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 1999

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
achievements of the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association, and the 
sixth anniversary of its Eighth Avenue Senior Center.
  For more than a decade, the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association has 
provided vital assistance to tens of thousands of the Chinese-American 
residents who constitute one of New York's fastest-growing communities. 
Six years ago, recognizing a critical need in this community, the 
Association opened the Eighth Avenue Senior Center, which provides 
daily congregate meals, citizenship classes, medical check-ups and 
screenings, monthly birthday parties, field trips and many other 
services.
  Operating out of modest facilities but with exceptional heart and 
dedication, the center has a membership of almost 2,000 and offers 
services to over 160 senior members daily.
  The centerpiece of this year's sixth anniversary commemoration is the 
Millennial Roundtable Celebration. Fulfilling an extraordinary and 
touching ceremony, tables will be organized with seating for 12 seniors 
who are each at least 84 years of age--totaling 1,000 years. For the 
first time, to commemorate the end of the century and the turn of the 
millennium, a Double Millennial Roundtable will be featured, with 
seating for 23 seniors who are at least 87 years of age and totaling 
2,000 years of age.
  A poet wrote, ``I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, 
but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is 
mellower, its colors are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow. 
Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the 
power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching 
age.''
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me when I commend the 
Eighth Avenue Senior Center, and the Brooklyn Chinese-American 
Association, for its work to ensure golden richness in the lives of our 
seniors.

                          ____________________