Seniors ready to learn (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and forced a lockdown of physical access to many government agencies and services, it highlighted New York City’s stark digital divide. Some of the city’s most vulnerable people lacked access to high-speed internet connection or the knowledge and training to use them. Now, a City Council bill expected to pass on Thursday aims to address that gap for the city’s rapidly growing older adult population. 

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A push for senior affordable housing (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

Older New Yorkers, aged 65 and above, are the fastest growing age group in the city, currently numbering at about 1.24 million and expected to grow to as many as 1.4 million residents by 2040. They are also a population that experiences significant housing insecurity and other housing challenges, with more than half considered rent-burdened. As the city continues to grapple with a deepening affordable housing crisis, City Council members on Monday sought answers from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration about efforts to support and prioritize

A New Yorker (photo: William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit)

Even with many of us working from home during the global pandemic, age discrimination was just as common in the workplace, and based on accounts from older adults, it has since grown even more rampant.  

Earlier this year AARPfound that 80% of older

City Council Member Crystal Hudson (photo: John McCarten/NYC Council)

April 25, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: City Council Member Crystal Hudson on Supporting Aging New Yorkers & More

City Council Member Crystal Hudson, a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn, joined the show to discuss her work chairing the Council's Committee on Aging, city budget priorities, housing policy, and more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the

Mayor de Blasio at a senior center (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Vaccines are the lifeline that will get us out of this crisis. But since vaccine distribution haltingly began two months ago, New York City’s estimated 136,000 homebound seniors had been left isolated with the knowledge that while they are the most at-risk of dying from COVID-19

Mayor de Blasio at a school food hub (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

The uncertainty around how New York City public schools will be reopened come September extends to the emergency food initiative greatly expanded by city government during the devastating coronavirus outbreak that led to mass unemployment and food insecurity, as a large portion of the program was using public schools to distribute millions of free meals.

A part of the massive program that has distributed over 100 million free meals since March will likely shift as students and

Seniors are especially vulnerable to isolation, now more than ever (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

Senior centers are closed. Visitation to nursing homes has been suspended. Social distancing orders have been broadly applied to businesses. Older people are the vast majority of those dying after contracting the virus. The COVID-19 era is marked by death, vulnerability, and isolation for older New Yorkers, with social interaction increasingly difficult to come by. The resulting isolation, already a major problem for seniors in more normal

Seniors are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 & its social effects (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

The outbreak of the deadly new coronavirus, COVID-19, throughout New York City has led to over 11,400 fatalities. One group particularly hard-hit by both the virus and its cumulative social effects has been senior citizens, older adults who often have underlying health conditions and less ability to fight off a serious infection.

Data provided by the New York City Health Department shows that more than 70% of the

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday that all senior centers in the city will be closing in an effort to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, to vulnerable populations.

“We will be closing our senior centers, ending all programming there with the exception of activities related to food. We will turn them into feeding centers, again, focused on grab-and-go, meaning pickup of meals for those seniors for whom that works,” de Blasio said during ...

Department for the Aging Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

“We’re going to protect our senior centers,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday during his latest briefing on the spread of the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, adding that city health department officials are visiting all of the city’s 600 such centers to ensure proper protocols amid the virus outbreak that has now led to 20 confirmed cases in the city, with more expected.

According to the federal ...

Mayor de Blasio speaks with seniors (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

As we age, we build momentum that is powering the economy, communities, and politics. Older people across the five boroughs are supporting local businesses, caring for their grandchildren, and participating in local politics. And yet we still find that many people aging into their later years cannot access this energy due to poverty, disability, and the lack of access to vital community services. We know almost one in three older New Yorkers struggles to make ends meet –

Council Members Chin, left, & Vallone (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

The City Council Committee on Aging held a hearing on Monday to examine the allotment for the Department of the Aging (DFTA) in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recently-released executive budget plan.

Council members and DFTA representatives for the de Blasio administration discussed the situation that seniors may be facing given reduced funding numbers in de Blasio’s $84.86 billion budget proposal. The Council, in its response to the mayor’s preliminary budget, had called

Seniors at City Hall (photo: @nonprofittalk)

A June City Council report on the budget for the city Department for the Aging (DFTA) detailed that there are approximately 1,400 seniors on waiting lists for case management services. The average age of these seniors is “85+,” with an average income of “$12,000-$20,000,”...

Rally for senior funding (photo via Council Member Chin)

After more than a decade of abuse, she finally called for help. Dialing 311, the 80-year-old widow - who had remained silent for years as the granddaughter she had raised yelled and cursed at her, slapped her, and stole from her - reached out for help after the younger woman threatened to seriously injure her.

She was referred by 311 to JASA, a non-profit serving seniors

Mayor de Blasio & Speaker Mark-Viverito talk (photo: William Alatriste)

“This year we're fighting for much-needed funds that will get #NYC 6-day library service citywide, more police, better parks & much more,” tweeted City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer on Monday morning.

Van Bramer, who chairs the Council’s cultural affairs committee, where the debate over library funding has largely been