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CityBench Program

CityBench Program

Status: Ongoing

Evaluated

New York City United States of America
Print this page City population: 840583716% over 60Practice started in 2007

Summary

The CityBench Program was created to increase the amount of public seating on New York City Streets. The 1500 benches are being installed around the City, particularly at bus stops, retail corridors, and areas with high concentrations of seniors. The installation process of the benches will be complete in 2015 and has already made streets more comfortable for transit pedestrians, especially older adults.

Website: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/citybench.shtml

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Other target group(s): Older people living alone, people with mobility challenges and disabilities, younger people, public sector

Sector(s): Urban development

Desired outcome for older people:
Be mobile

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Accessibility

Other Issues: none

Contact details

Name: Goldman, Lindsay

Email address: goldman@nyam.org

Preferred language(s): English

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Older people’s involvement: Older people were consulted during the planning process

Details on older people’s involvement: Older people provided the answers to our questions and surveys. They told us what they wanted. They were encouraged by our initiative.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Please share with us what you found in detail:
The pilot results were well accepted and urged by the older adults and the City to expand the initiative to include all 51 New York City neighborhoods

Feedback:
A few comments have been: “I don’t know what I’d do without that bench! If it wasn’t for that bench I couldn’t get around. It’s clean and thank God for it. I pray every day, please don’t let it be full!” “The benches make a difference between a good day and a bad day.”

Expansion plans:
Yes. Expand from 3 neighborhoods to 10 neighborhoods to eventually all 51 neighborhoods.

Looking back

Reflections:
Our experience in conjunction with the City’s New York City Parks Department was greatly received.

Challenges:
Other than expanding funding, there were no restrictive challenges.