Aging In NYC: Photographer Captures Senior Life In the City

Lou is 88 years old and lives by himself in the Upper West Side of New York City. The first time I met him he was sitting on his scooter talking with his friend Manny, who lives in the same building. Both Lou and Manny were very happy to speak with me. I found out that Lou was a New York City Policeman and had worked as both a uniformed police officer as well as an undercover cop.

He said he spent most of his career working in the area of New York City known as Fort Apache. In the 1970s and 1980s, the 41st police precinct was nicknamed "Fort Apache" because to those who worked there, it felt like an army outpost in a foreign territory. The streets at that time were filled with gangs, criminals, and drug dealers.

Unemployment was very high and the neighborhood was filled with abandoned buildings. It was so well known that in 1981 Hollywood made the movie "Fort Apache," starring Paul Newman as a cop at the 41st precinct.

I asked Lou about his family. He told me that he has two sons who live in New York and visit him often. He said his wife lost one pregnancy that would have been a daughter. He said the miscarriage occurred because at the time of her pregnancy he was shot while on duty and nearly died. He later divorced and has no contact with his ex-wife.

Lou was very happy to talk about his career as a police officer and showed me several photos of himself both in uniform and when he was working undercover in narcotics. He also told me that he has beat cancer five different times, and is now living cancer free. He attributed that to his physical conditioning as a child and young adult. He said he trained in martial arts and boxing. He said he had taught boxing in the South Bronx and would like to be able to do that again.

I have seen Lou several times now, and each time I have been greeted warmly. Lou clearly likes being able to share his stories of his younger self.

Herb Bardavid is a social worker with a passion for photography going back to his childhood years. When he was 12 years old, Bardavid commandeered his family's only bathroom to serve as a part-time dark room for developing photos.

At his wife's suggestion, the Upper West Side resident chose to chronicle the lives of New York City senior citizens for a year-long photography project. Bardavid, who's in his 70s, is inspired by New York City's elders who don't let their age get in the way of how they live their lives.

"Elderly people in New York City are sometimes invisible," Bardavid told Patch. "People walk by and nobody pays attention to them. So when I stop people they're are not only surprised but also happy because people don't often talk to them."

Check out Bardavid's blog here.