Age-Friendly NYC

The City's Age-friendly NYC: New Commitments for a City for All Ages initiative launched in 2017 with nearly 90 programs from agencies such as Housing Preservation and Development, the Departments of Finance, Health and Mental Hygiene, Parks and Recreation, the Department for the Aging, and New York City Emergency Management.

With more people living past age 60 than ever before, Age-friendly NYC shows the City's commitment to helping older adults age in place with dignity.

Download Age-friendly NYC reports:

• Age-friendly NYC: New Commitments for a City for All Ages (2017)
• Progress Report (2013)
• Progress Report (2011)
• Age-friendly NYC: Enhancing Our City's Livability for Older New Yorkers (2009)

The Department for the Aging (DFTA) funds nearly 250 senior centers and dozens of affiliated sites through community partnerships in every borough. Senior center membership is free and open to anyone age 60 or older, and you can join any center you like. Language services are available on site.

Activities are designed to meet the needs of members attending individual senior centers. Not all services are available at all sites, but popular activities and services include:

Art, music, and dance classes

Walking clubs, yoga, and tai chi

Chronic disease self-management classes for people with arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure

Nutrition and other workshops

Benefits screenings (Medicare, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and other programs)

Technology classes

Recreational trips

Transportation

Lunch (some centers also serve breakfast)

Holiday and birthday celebrations

Some centers also provide mental health services through the ThriveNYC Geriatric Mental Health Initiative.

DFTA also funds centers for special populations, including SAGE centers in every borough, the Queens Center for Gay Seniors, and VISIONS at Selis Manor Senior Center.

A study of DFTA senior centers found that attending a center reduces social isolation and improves health. Find a center near you.

Bill Payer Program

Do you need help organizing your bills, budgeting your money, and balancing your checkbook? Concerned about fraud? The Bill Payer Program can match you with a volunteer to visit your home or another designated place. Our volunteers are trained and undergo a background check.

To be eligible for free Bill Payer Program services, you must:

• Be 60 or older
• Be eligible for case-management services and accept a referral to the program
• Have a yearly income of $50,000 or less
• Have no other help with your bill-paying tasks
• Have a checking account or be willing to open one
• Have sufficient funds to cover monthly expenses
• Be willing to direct the work of a volunteer

Contact a case-management agency for a referral or call 311 for more information.

Caring for Adults

Caring for an older adult, someone with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, or with a chronic illness can be stressful. You may not think of yourself as a caregiver if you have a job outside of the home or if you are an older adult yourself, but recognizing that you are is an important step in getting help.

The Department for the Aging's Caregiver Resource Center is staffed with specialists in dementia and long-term care issues. The Center offers free counseling, referrals, and can connect you with support groups.

The Department also partners with community-based programs in each borough to:

• Provide respite care
• Train caregivers
• Pay for some types of assistive devices (medical alert systems, limited home modifications)

As a caregiver, you owe it to yourself to seek support. Call 311 for more information, find a caregiver program near you, or contact the Caregiver Resource Center.

For older adults who require assistance with personal care, social adult day care is meant to provide socialization, supervision and monitoring, personal care, and nutrition in a structured setting. Many of the adult day cares operating in the City aren't affiliated with DFTA, but you can download a list of City-funded sites.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

NYFSC’s affordable housing has been developed with the understanding that most seniors prefer to live on their own and age in place. And, there is no reason why most of them cannot – as long as they have sufficient finances and access to certain basic services, as required.

This is where NYFSC’s subsidized buildings come in. Each residence has been thoughtfully designed to achieve a pleasant living environment and provide social services to help residents effectively age in place. They provide an apartment-based lifestyle for well, frail and handicapped seniors – complete with the specialized services that many require. Common areas such as lobbies, dining rooms and gardens have been created with the residents’ comfort and well-being in mind, designed in cooperation with a prominent New York interior designer.

30 to 40% of the residents of seven of NYFSC’s subsidized buildings benefit from the Enriched Housing Program. The staff provides case management services and organizes various social and recreational activities.

NYFSC has received the Municipal Art Society Award for creating upbeat and positive housing, set against tasteful and gracious surroundings for New York City’s elderly.

To apply for or inquire about affordable senior housing, please call 212-369-5523.

Alma Rangel Gardens

SENIOR CENTERS

Dyckman Senior Center
Located at 10th Avenue and 201st Street, the Dyckman Senior Center bustles with activity. Serving a multi-ethnic population, the Center is a place where seniors meet friends, enjoy a meal and join in recreational activities. Membership has grown to well over 1,500 members.

LaGuardia Good Health and Happiness Senior Center
Even the name – Good Health and Happiness – is enough to make seniors smile, feel happy and upbeat. Located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the Center’s activities reflect the mix of east and west cultures that meet here daily. Some come to meet their friends and participate in social activities. They can also enjoy nutritionally balanced breakfasts and lunches. Seniors come from all five boroughs. There are no membership fees – only proof of age is required.

There are so many things to do at the Center that it’s impossible to get bored. Seniors can start off the day with “Lok Tung Kuen” exercises in the morning, followed by arts & crafts, music, bingo and mahjong and health promotion. Each year, the Center celebrates Chinese New Year with a gala event. Since NYFSC assumed sponsorship of the Center in 1992, membership has grown from 250 seniors to well over 7,100, a sure sign that the Center’s recipe for ‘health and happiness’ is working!

Mott Street Senior Center
The Mott Street Senior Center combines lovely décor, fun-filled activities, celebratory events and trips outside of the City to its growing membership. In the heart of Little Italy, bordering on Chinatown, Mott Street Senior Center’s members enjoy an easy camaraderie built on exercise, playing bingo and mahjong, dancing, painting, ceramics, sculpting, sewing, knitting, and crocheting, among other activities. Each day, members can enjoy delicious, nutritionally balanced breakfasts and lunches. Since NYFSC assumed sponsorship of the Center in September 2000, membership has grown from 400 seniors to over 5,400.

“New York Foundation for Senior Citizens makes our lives healthier and happier,” says senior center member, Joy.

Funding for the Dyckman, LaGuardia Good Health and Happiness, and Mott Street Senior Centers is provided by the New York City Department for the Aging.