Aging In NYC: Photographer Captures Senior Life In the City

Wito was sitting on a bench in the courtyard of his building on 64th Street. I did not recognize him, but he reminded me that we had met last year at the Lincoln Center Community Center. I then remembered speaking with him when I interviewed his friend, Jose, for my blog. He told me that Jose had passed away and his wife moved back to Puerto Rico and was admitted to a nursing home.

Wito is 72 years old. He was born in Puerto Rico and came to New York City with his parents when he was four years old. He considers himself a native New Yorker. Wito worked as a chief and sou chief in a barbecue restaurant for 32 years. He then moved to Florida to be with his wife, and they had a son. Wito is now divorced and lives alone in Manhattan, his son and his son's wife still in Florida. Wito speaks to his son regularly but does not get to see him often. I asked him about grandchildren and Wito said he wishes they would have a child. Nothing yet, but he is waiting.

When he returned from Florida about ten years ago, Wito worked in construction for a short time, but then returned to the same barbecue restaurant at which he had worked before going to Florida.

Wito has been retired now for two years and he likes retirement very much. He enjoys walking around the city that feels like home. He has all he needs right here in his own backyard. I asked if there was anything that he doesn't like about the City, and he said every now and then, he hears about a crime that has been committed that upsets him.

Wito enjoys attending the Community Center, connecting with his friends, enjoying his retirement. Wito loves getting old in a city he calls home, and that he can get out and about no matter the weather.

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.

Photos by Herb Bardavid