by Michelle Mullen

Community Board 8 is once again urging the city to fund wheelchair-accessible buses for senior centers in the district, elevating the need to one of its top capital priorities in the preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget.

The board ranked senior transportation needs third this year, up from fifth last year, reflecting what members describe as a widening gap between a rapidly aging population and the services needed to support it. In its response, the New York City Department for the Aging said it supports the request but cannot fund it in the capital budget.

On the ground, providers say the consequences have long been visible and have taken on new urgency following last year’s closure of the Key Food supermarket in North Riverdale, which had served as a reliable, walkable source of groceries for many seniors in the area.

Just around the corner from the site of the former supermarket is the Riverdale Y’s older adult center, New Beginnings. Reserved for those 60 and up, it provides a wide range of offerings, from programs like Mah Jongg for socialization to mental health resources available on site.

But New Beginnings’ director, Sharon Asherman, said older residents are increasingly dependent on the center’s free meal programs and organized shopping trips, all of which require transportation to access.

“Some people who live in this neighborhood have no way of getting food,” Asherman said. “There’s more of a need for shopping trips, because there’s no local source of food.”

The center’s transportation fleet consists of two older vans, one from 2012 and another from 2015, that are frequently in need of repair after years of heavy use on Riverdale’s notoriously hilly streets.

“They’re in the shop more than they’re out on the streets,” Asherman said.

Without additional funding, replacing or expanding transportation fleets is largely out of reach. NYC Aging estimated a new mini-bus would cost about $75,000. For New Beginnings, which needs two new vehicles, staff are left to rely on aging vans or turn away participants who cannot get there on their own.

The need is growing alongside the borough’s aging population. According to Community Board 8, one in five residents in the district is over the age of 65, a 53 percent increase since 2000. As more residents age in place, demand for transportation to essential services, including access to food, continues to rise.

At Riverdale Senior Services, similar pressures have forced executive director Tina Cardoza-Izquierdo to implement a shift in how transportation is provided.

“Due to the difficulties in obtaining funding and maintaining the current bus we have, RSS has moved to utilizing Uber Health and Professional to provide transportation to our members,” she told The Press.

The change came after a series of compounding challenges, including the loss of a bus driver, difficulty hiring a replacement with the required credentials and the rising cost of maintaining an aging vehicle. Cardoza-Izquierdo said the cost of sustaining the transportation system had become increasingly difficult.

“Traditional transportation involves employing a driver, utilizing a bus for multiple passengers, the expense, the maintenance, the salary,” she said. “It really adds up.”

The organization tested a rideshare-based model last year using Uber Health and Professional services.

“RSS conducted a pilot from September through February, with a small group, to see how utilizing Uber would impact and benefit our members,” Cardoza-Izquierdo said. “The pilot has been a great success and will continue.”

By relying on multiple drivers instead of a single bus operator, the program has allowed the center to expand the number of rides it can provide and improve reliability for some participants.

But Cardoza-Izquierdo and Asherman said the issue is also tied to whether seniors can remain socially connected and emotionally supported.

“You have a lot of older adults living independently, without family support systems,” Asherman said. “People need other people, and we need transportation to help them get here.”

Keywords

Community Board 8,

senior transportation,

Riverdale seniors,

wheelchair-accessible buses,

NYC Aging,

Riverdale Y,

New Beginnings,

aging population