Bay Ridge asks seniors, ‘How are you doing?’

Gentile funds $100,000 needs assessment survey

May 6, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Jane Kelly (second from left) enjoys a cup of coffee with Judith Grimaldi, Pierre Lehu, Marianne Nicolosi and Todd Fliedner (left to right) as they discuss a new senior citizen survey. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas

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Jane Kelly, 94, sat at a table in the cozy Third Avenue coffee shop Caffe Café Thursday morning with her friends Judith Grimaldi, Pierre Lehu, Marianne Nicolosi and Todd Fliedner chatting about her life as a senior citizen in Bay Ridge.

Kelly, a retired Catholic school teacher who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, is active in several civic improvement organizations, including the Bay Ridge Community Council and the Bay Ridge Council for the Aging. She was asked what advice she would share with other older adults hoping to remain active and in good health.

Her advice was simple. “Keep active. There are so many organizations that need volunteers,” she said in a soft-spoken voice.

Kelly’s sit-down with her friends had a relaxed, casual tone, but it had a serious purpose.

Grimaldi, Lehu, Nicolosi and Fliedner aren’t just friends of Kelly’s. They are also advocates for seniors in Bay Ridge, and they were interviewing Kelly for a “Neighborhood Needs Assessment” survey being conducted by the Bay Ridge Center, a leading senior citizens program in the neighborhood sponsored by the city’s Department for the Aging that serves thousands of older adults at 411 Ovington Ave.

Nicolosi is the center’s executive director and Fliedner is the director of outreach and development for the program. Grimaldi is an attorney specializing in senior citizen issues. Lehu is a writer.

The “Neighborhood Needs Assessment” is funded by a $100,000 grant secured by Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-parts of Bensonhurst). In a statement issued to the Brooklyn Eagle, Gentile said he worked to get the funding so that the needs of senior citizens could be met.“Our seniors have worked hard all of their lives, supporting our city and local communities through their efforts. In turn, they deserve the best care and support from their elected officials and their neighborhoods,” he stated.

The survey, which is being distributed throughout the community and is also available online at http://AdvantAge.BayRidgeSurvey.sgizmo.com/s3/, is aimed at adults age 55 and older.

It contains 118 questions on such topics as whether seniors regularly attend religious services, where they shop, whether they eat at home or out, what type of health insurance they have, their interest in learning computer skills and whether they are aware of the types of government funded services available to them.

Seniors do not have to put their name on the survey.

The goal of the questionnaire is to determine the needs of senior citizens and to come up with recommendations on how to best assist older adults, according to Grimaldi, owner of the law firm Grimaldi and Yeung LLP.

Grimaldi offered an example of a possible change that could result from the survey. “We hope to look at the design of stores. Is that lighting adequate?” she said, adding that one possible outcome of the survey would be to convince merchants to make their stores more senior-friendly.

Nicolosi noted that Bay Ridge is a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC). A NORC is defined as a neighborhood where large numbers of senior citizens who moved there when they were young and who raised their children there have “aged in place,” meaning that they have remained in the community long after their children were grown. “Bay Ridge has one of the largest senior populations in New York City, so it was my top priority to work with my colleagues in the City Council to secure and establish NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) funding for the five boroughs and the Bay Ridge Center in Brooklyn. As a result, they are equipped with the proper resources to collect important data via a needs assessment survey to serve seniors needs as necessary” Gentile said.

Community Board 10, which is made up of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, is home to 18,000 residents over the age of 60, Nicolosi said.

And the numbers of senior citizens are expected to grow over the next several years. “In the next 15 years, 50 percent of Bay Ridge residents will be seniors,” Fliedner predicted.

In many cases, seniors find themselves living far from their children because the kids have moved thousands of miles away, Grimaldi said. That’s why community-based programs are important, she said. “We used to rely on family. We need to replace those supports,” she said.

The completed survey sheets will be sent to the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, which will compile the data and send it back to the Bay Ridge Center. The center plans to post the results on its website at www.bayridgecenter.com.