State Senator Serphin R. Maltese strode slowly through the midmorning crowd at the Peter Cardella Senior Citizens Center like a shepherd corralling a weary but loyal flock. In the corridors and cafeteria, Mr. Maltese, 75, stopped repeatedly and leaned in to hear the greetings or gripes of his constituents — most of them Italian-Americans — who in the twilight of their lives have traded their neighborhood social clubs for centers for the elderly like this one in Ridgewood, Queens. Mr. Maltese spoke to them softly as a stocky man with a shiny red tie and a microphone sang a song...