BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Marie Spivey, a 67-year-old from the Bronx, waited for friends in Brooklyn's Prospect Park on a recent Sunday.

“I came all the way over here,” Spivey said. “I am so glad to be here, to be out."

Musicians, dancers and onlookers gathered to enjoy the beat, and each other.

“There they are,” shouted Spivey as she spotted her friends.

It was her first time back seeing them since September.

“I’ve been suffering with depression. It’s been really hard,” she explained. “It’s been lonely, depressed about the fact that I had to isolate.”

These LGBTQ seniors were, for the most part, sequestered at home alone during the pandemic winter.

“It’s so good to see you,” Spivey told her two friends from Brooklyn.

All three women have been depending on online groups and classes for human contact.

“Taking a Microsoft class, taking sign language, stretch class, Spanish class,” Spivey said.

“I’m doing some of the Stonewall classes," said her friend Ros Davis. "A couple of Tai Chi classes.”

"Partner centers created movement classes, discussion groups, games, activities," said Paul Nagle, the Executive Director of the Stonewall Community Development Corporation.

The non-profit organization brought those classes on-line, partnering with LGBTQ serving senior centers to connect their classes to the web, coincidentally just before the pandemic hit.

“It was nuts," said Nagle. "We went from 120 users to 1,200 users in three weeks.”

Now they’re preparing for a post-pandemic world where senior centers reopen and host their live classes in-person again.

Back at the Drum Circle, Spivey says she’s already noticed a slow down in online activity.

“And when the weather broke, on-line please, there was nobody there on zoom,” she said laughing.

All three ladies say they’re fully vaccinated and activities like this get together they organized on their own help.

“It’s very joyful, put a smile on my face," said Spivey.

But until senior centers they depend upon completely reopen, their lives can’t return to normal.

“It’s not possible," said Spivey.

“Can’t wait 'til they’re open," said her friend Paula Johnson.

"That was part of our life, that’s what we had to do, that’s what we had to look forward to," said Spivey about Senior Centers. "And it’s non-existent."

The city reopened outdoor activities for senior centers this week and will reopen indoor activities on June 14.