Manhattan BP, NY Academy of Medicine Launch New Senior Quality of Life Initiative
NEW YORK — Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) announced a new initiative, Age-friendly Manhattan, to address the issues faced by older New Yorkers in the borough of Manhattan. The initiative will continue to solicit feedback from older New Yorkers to inform city planning and policy and will mobilize older people and their providers to advocate for local age-friendly improvements. To launch the initiative, Age-friendly Manhattan issued a new report, Steps to a More Age-friendly Manhattan, surveying over 1,000 older Manhattanites beginning in October 2019 about their attitudes and experiences with regards to everything from transportation to housing to community support and health services.
Key findings from Steps to a More Age-friendly Manhattan include significant health disparities reported by Latinx New Yorkers—the majority of older Latinx New Yorkers reported poor health (72%) compared to Asian Americans who reported good health (93%). Neighborhoods with the largest concentrations of older people reporting ambulatory difficulty have only one or no subway stations compliant with the Americans for Disabilities Act. Seniors also reported poor availability of benches, particularly in the Upper East Side and Manhattanville. In Washington Heights, Chinatown, and Central Harlem, the housing cost burden was the greatest issue for survey participants residing in those neighborhoods compared to other neighborhoods. The majority of seniors who reported unavailability of public transportation lived in Midtown or Lower Manhattan. Finally, close to half the respondents reported that mental health services were not readily available.
“I speak to seniors every day about the daily benefits and ongoing challenges of living in Manhattan and I am so pleased to be able to release a systemic report with The New York Academy of Medicine about their experiences and quality of life as part of the newly-launched Age-friendly Manhattan Initiative,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “One of the most important findings in the latest report that surfaced was the ambulatory challenges our seniors faced, and during a time when the MTA is making news by removing benches from subway stations, our recommendation is that not only must the MTA and DOT install more benches at subway and bus stations, all subway stations should be made ADA-compliant.”
“Manhattan’s 65+ population is on track to increase 19% by 2030,” said NYAM President Dr. Judith A. Salerno. “We need to listen to and address the needs of this population, and we commend Borough President Gale Brewer for her ongoing commitment to improving the lives of Manhattan’s older adults. In partnership with the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, The New York Academy of Medicine and our Center for Healthy Aging are working to ensure that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy everything that Manhattan has to offer.”
Source: The Office of the Manhattan Borough President