The number of New Yorkers over 65 grew 26 percent over the past decade, and they now make up a larger share of the population than ever before.But state funding hasn't kept pace with this rapid demographic shift. While Governor Cuomo and state lawmakers have proposed an increase in funds for services that help older New Yorkers remain in their own homes as they age, it's not enough to meet the needs of the growing older adult population.  State lawmakers should increase funding further to include critical support programs that directly benefit older New Yorkers. In this op-ed in The Daily Gazette, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel push lawmakers to make new investments to ensure that more New Yorkers can grow older with dignity and security.

Read the op-ed here.

This op-ed is a continuation of the Center for an Urban Future's extensive research on the needs of New York's older adults, including the recent study New York’s Older Adult Population is Booming Statewide, which was generously supported by AARP. MetLife Foundation and the Frank E. Clark Charitable Trust generously supported The New Face of New York's Seniors report and Capital One generously supported the report, Starting Later: Realizing the Promise of Older Entrepreneurs in New York City. Later this year, a more comprehensive report will be published about the growth in older adults in New York City and the need to improve and rethink services for older adults in New York City, which is being supported by The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Altman Foundation, and The New York Community Trust.

^{Photo Credit: Huy Phan/Unsplashed}