Age-Friendly Bay Ridge
By 2040 seniors will comprise 21.7% of the population and by 2060 there will be about 98 million older persons, more than twice their number in 2013.
In 2014 Bay Ridge Center in cooperation with Community Board 10 spearheaded an age friendly initiative. Through subsequent meetings and focus groups we have evolved into the Bay Ridge Age Friendly project. Our focus is to identify and implement initiatives that will help seniors more successfully age in place in the community where they live. We can accomplish our goals by working along with local community leaders, city government agencies and dedicated volunteers.
We have already identified transportation, quality of life issues, increased senior housing options and senior safety concerns as initial focus areas.
Inquiries: AgeFriendly@BayRidgeCenter.org
Please join our movement. See the brochure
Walk-able Challenges Navigating
on Many Local Sidewalks
According to NYC Department of Health Community Health Profiles - Seniors 65+ in Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights
fall-related hospitalizations is higher than citywide average. We must work together to advance safe and accessible
sidewalk corridors for older adults! We hold meetings periodically at Bay Ridge CONNECTS, through Community Board 10,
and publicly (in person or on Zoom) to identify problem areas and work together for change.
Some of the issues we’re working on:
E-bikes / Scooters/Bikes / Skateboard Riders on Sidewalk
Extended business sidewalk use, whether expanded fruit stands,
newly expanded sidewalk cafes, or storage of deliveriesBroken / Uneven / Excavated Sidewalk Pavement – excavation,
not maintained, lifted from trees, etc.Vehicles parked on sidewalks
Join us! Email: AgeFriendly@BayRidgeCenter.org
Background on Age Friendly Campaigns
First coined by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 2006, “Age Friendly” reflected the WHO’s concern about the challenges of aging in the new millennium. The big question was, in an age of rapid technological development and urbanization, how can cities be more age-friendly? By 2009, this question was being seriously contemplated by the New York City Council, Mayor’s office (Bloomberg), and New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM). New York City became one of WHO’s pioneer Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities.
In the following year (and decade), the United States took its regular census. Among other statistic, a curious trend seemed to be happening. American birth rates were dropping to such a point that, according to projections, the 2030s will be a decade where senior citizens outnumber teenagers. This trend put more pressure on municipalities to ensure their services and infrastructure were all the more capable of facilitating an ease of life for residents 60 and older.