Dozens of elderly city residents gathered on the steps of City Hall this morning, urging Mayor Michael Bloomberg to protect them from eviction.

The Advantage Program, which paid rent for single and disabled seniors while they got back on their feet or transitioned to Section 8 assistance, was dropped by the city last year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo canceled state funding for the program. Bloomberg says the city cannot afford to fund the program on its own. Around 1,500 New Yorkers who took part in the program now face eviction.

Community groups are asking the city to create a new plan to provide homeless New Yorkers with a path to permanent homes and prevent seniors from ending up in homeless shelters.

BX residents worried over end to Advantage ProgramRuling could put thousands of BX families on the streetProgram for ex-homeless families gets temporary reprieveMore than 6,000 ex-homeless could lose rent help