DID YOU KNOW...
Outdated e-mail addresses waste your PEF Retirees dues. Please e-mail your updated address toJennifer Tropiano
Outdated e-mail addresses waste your PEF Retirees dues. Please e-mail your updated address toJennifer Tropiano
RETIREES IN ACTION
A message from PEF Retirees President Steve Muscarella
Want senior-friendly options? Demand them
The
state Office for the Aging (OFA) recently hosted conferences to promote
awareness of “Livable Communities” in New York State.
The conferences examined: development of housing alternatives; the living environment preference of older people and caregivers; integration of housing and services; universal design and housing modification; financial strategies; and the implications of demographic and social change on communities.
As we know, our society is “graying.” We need alternative living arrangements that will enable us to live independently in our communities as long as possible. Overwhelmingly, the choice of seniors is “aging in place.”
The modern family has evolved from the larger kinship arrangements of the past to smaller nuclear households. These units often are unable to care for elderly parents or relatives. In-law apartments are often prohibited by zoning restrictions with rigid adherence to single-use, low-density construction.
In the past, the grocery store, doctor’s office, public library, post office, churches and shops were easily reachable within a short walk.
Now, these resources often are scattered in areas without public transportation, leaving people either totally dependent on their personal auto or isolated and dependent on other individuals.
When our towns and cities hold public hearings on their plans for local development or changes to their zoning laws, we should learn about the proposals and ask questions such as: Will the community be walkable? Will it have sufficient affordable, public transportation? Will needed services and resources be accessible? And will this be a secure environment?
The objective of Livable Communities is to examine what we’ve done in the past and to pool our ideas about the future. The goal is to ensure future development will take into consideration the demographic effect and the desired living arrangements of all citizens.
PEF Retirees reminds our public officials to consider the aging of the baby boomers, the increased longevity of the population and the need for a healthy balance between the elderly and non-elderly in our living arrangements.
We are not powerless in confronting current problems and challenges. We must insist communities respond to their whole populations, including the elderly.
A message from PEF Retirees President Steve Muscarella
Want senior-friendly options? Demand them
The
state Office for the Aging (OFA) recently hosted conferences to promote
awareness of “Livable Communities” in New York State. The conferences examined: development of housing alternatives; the living environment preference of older people and caregivers; integration of housing and services; universal design and housing modification; financial strategies; and the implications of demographic and social change on communities.
As we know, our society is “graying.” We need alternative living arrangements that will enable us to live independently in our communities as long as possible. Overwhelmingly, the choice of seniors is “aging in place.”
The modern family has evolved from the larger kinship arrangements of the past to smaller nuclear households. These units often are unable to care for elderly parents or relatives. In-law apartments are often prohibited by zoning restrictions with rigid adherence to single-use, low-density construction.
In the past, the grocery store, doctor’s office, public library, post office, churches and shops were easily reachable within a short walk.
Now, these resources often are scattered in areas without public transportation, leaving people either totally dependent on their personal auto or isolated and dependent on other individuals.
When our towns and cities hold public hearings on their plans for local development or changes to their zoning laws, we should learn about the proposals and ask questions such as: Will the community be walkable? Will it have sufficient affordable, public transportation? Will needed services and resources be accessible? And will this be a secure environment?
The objective of Livable Communities is to examine what we’ve done in the past and to pool our ideas about the future. The goal is to ensure future development will take into consideration the demographic effect and the desired living arrangements of all citizens.
PEF Retirees reminds our public officials to consider the aging of the baby boomers, the increased longevity of the population and the need for a healthy balance between the elderly and non-elderly in our living arrangements.
We are not powerless in confronting current problems and challenges. We must insist communities respond to their whole populations, including the elderly.