In 2007, the Office of the Mayor, the New York City Council and the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) launched Age-friendly New York City by doing a comprehensive assessment of the assets and challenges older New Yorkers face. The assessment included guided conversations with more than 1,500 older adults across the city in six languages, roundtable discussions with hundreds of professionals, a literature review, and extensive mapping. In the fall of 2008, NYAM released the findings of the assessment process.

As a complement to the community assessment, the Office of the Mayor and the New York City Council asked all city agencies to consider how they could improve the way they integrate and serve older adults through their work. Out of this review, the City announced 59 initiatives in 2009 to improve the quality of life of older adults. A detailed progress report on this work was released in 2013.

In order to make improvements in the city, a four-year Commission for an Age-friendly New York City was seated with leaders from both the public and private sector in 2010. The Commission has focused its attention primarily in the areas of: Age-friendly Businesses, Age-friendly Schools, Colleges and Universities and Ageing Improvement Districts.

The project and its staff have also served as a leader in the global age-friendly cities movement. In July 2010, New York City was the first city to join the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities. Articles, radio interviews, and television segments in major national news outlets have spread Age-friendlyNew York City’s message to millions. Leadership from Age-friendly New York City have presented to and advised cities around the world launching similar initiatives.