'Age-Friendly,' Sometimes, Anyway

By Clyde Haberman

The New York Times, July 1, 2010

For some New Yorkers who will never see 65 again, there was reason to smile at the news this week about, of all things, a comic-book figure. Wonder Woman is 69 years old, bless her Amazonian heart, but she's still going strong. The old gal has even been given a thorough makeover to keep her rocking on for years to come.

It wasn’t a terrific week, though, for a real-life figure with miles on him, the Brooklyn-born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger. You know him better as Larry King. At 76 and suffering from television’s version of a fatal disease, falling ratings, Mr. King recognized that he had hung on a tad too long. He announced he would soon end his long-running talk show on CNN.

In reality or make-believe, there is no avoiding the question of how to get on in years gracefully.

With that in mind, it was interesting to come across a bit of news the other day that drew few headlines. The World Health Organization added New York to its "global network of age-friendly cities." It was an international tip of the hat to the city for trying to make itself a better place for growing old.

"It makes us members of a club of people who are struggling, in their own and perhaps much different ways, with learning about and thinking about and approaching this issue," said Linda I. Gibbs, the deputy mayor for health and human services. "It's really a lovely recognition."

One reason for the acknowledgment was a plan that city officials and the New York Academy of Medicine announced last year to improve life for older New Yorkers. All sorts of ideas were put forth, on matters like transportation, housing, health care, job training, nutrition and cultural activities. To a large degree, it was more a wish list than a concrete program. But at least it showed that the city was thinking about issues that will only become more dominant.

Like other cities, New York has a population that is aging, if you will forgive a somewhat meaningless word that we are stuck with. After all, everyone is aging. It’s called living. The only people not aging are dead.

In any event, those at the upper reaches of the age scale are "the fastest-growing segment of the city's population," according to the Department for the Aging. The department says that more than 1.3 million New Yorkers are 60 or over (which is not old by our lights, but what are you going to do?). They represent about 15 percent of the city’s population.

That percentage will rise as baby boomers wrinkle. The boomers, as a group, are famous for demanding attention. They are not likely to be retiring even in retirement.

In some respects, New York is a great place in which to grow old. A decade ago, the Department for the Aging banged that drum, promoting this as “the ultimate retirement city.” It listed advantages like reduced mass-transit fares, splendid parks and limitless cultural opportunities to keep the mind active.

Four years ago, a ratings outfit called Sperling's Best Places included New York in a list of “top 10 cities for seniors." ("Seniors" is another unfortunate word. What does that make the rest of the populace — juniors?) New York ranked No. 7, based on considerations like available medical care, living space for the elderly and the relative ease of getting around on subways and buses. Portland, Ore., had top billing, a decision that surely had nothing to do with the fact that Sperling’s is based in Portland.

"We're a retirement destination," Ms. Gibbs said. “A lot of retirees come with their bank accounts.” In recent years, the Department of City Planning says, about 11,500 people 65 and older have moved into New York each year.

But New York is obviously no picnic for people with slender or nonexistent bank accounts. The city says that one-third of New Yorkers 65 and up are living in poverty. About

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