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New York Opens First Gay Senior
Citizens Center
AFP
March 3, 2012
New
York has the largest urban population of
gays, lesbians or bisexuals in the country
(AFP/Getty Images/File, Michael Nagle)
New York City has opened the
first senior citizens center in the
United States dedicated exclusively to
homosexuals under an initiative
sponsored by the mayor's office.
"We considered it the first
full-time, full-service senior center
for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transsexual) seniors in the US," said
Christopher Miller, a spokesman for the
city's Department of Aging.
The SAGE Center was officially
inaugurated on Thursday in Manhattan's
Chelsea neighborhood, one of eight
initiatives launched by the city to
improve the lives of the elderly.
Another initiative targets the blind.
The center offers programs
related to art and culture, food and
nutrition and health and welfare, said
officials for SAGE, a non-governmental
organization dedicated to providing
services for gay elders. The
organization will run the center under
an agreement with the city.
"The SAGE Center seeks to
ensure that LGBT older adults in all
five boroughs can age in good health,
financially secure and with broad
community support," a statement from the
center said.
New York has the largest urban
population of gays, lesbians or
bisexuals in the country, according to
the mayor's office.
Currently, 1.3 million elderly
persons live in New York among a
population of 8.17 million residents.
Their numbers are expected to grow by 46
percent over the next 25 years.
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