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The New York Citizens Committee on Aging, Inc. was founded in 1960 as a unit of the Mayors office; later it became a committee of the Community Council of Greater New York, and separately incorporated in 1989. For nearly 50 years, the Committee has been considered an innovative leader in aging policy and advocacy. Its accomplishments include:
- Program Meetings featuring presentations on relevant issues of aging such as: Medicare & Medicaid changes, Social Security, Long Term Care insurance, Affordable Housing, and more.
- Conferences and forums on Medicare, Economic Challenges Facing Women, Social Security, Diversity, and Elder Poverty in NYC.
- Position papers in areas of housing, income, health and social services.
- Collaborations with local and broader coalitions to improve the quality of life for older adults and ensure effective programs and services for them.
- Funded research projects such as the 2005 survey of 140 NYC residents on opinions about Social Security: Changing Todays Social Programs: The Impact on Tomorrows Retirees.
Recently, the Committee has taken the initiative in addressing the critical problem of increasing poverty among New York Citys older population. This effort produced a report, Under the Radar: Poverty among Older Adults in New York City, which showed that New York Citys elderly poverty rate is twice the national average: 20.3% versus 9.9%. In May 2007 the Committee, along with ten collaborating organizations, held a solutions-oriented forum, Under the Radar: Old and Poor in a City of Riches to present its findings on elder poverty in NYC and solicit realistic solutions. The Forum, attended by 200 persons, mobilized the aging and advocacy communities and a follow-up Task Force is now at work on concrete steps and recommendations alleviating poverty among New Yorks elderly population. See Under the Radar: Poverty Among Older Adults in New York City, 2007.