UWS Seniors Among Most Vulnerable During Coronavirus: Comptroller

UPPER WEST SIDE, MANHATTAN — The Upper West Side is among the neighborhoods with the most seniors who live alone, making its residents particularly vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report Wednesday outlining 19 recommendations for how the city could do more to protect its most vulnerable populations during the pandemic, which has particularly put a strain on communities of color, immigrants, low-income and older New Yorkers.

Among those are the Upper West Side's 16,695 seniors who live alone, the second highest population of seniors living alone of any neighborhood.

"Because COVID-19 can be particularly fatal for the elderly, leaving the home and shopping for groceries carries a serious risk," Stringer writes. "As a result, many are strictly homebound and, for those living alone, utterly isolated."

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The Upper West Side was among several Manhattan neighborhoods with high populations of seniors living alone.

One third of all New Yorkers who live alone are over the age of 65, according to the report. The Upper East Side had the most, with 18,646 seniors living alone.

Both the Upper West and Upper East sides also ranked high for a related vulnerable population, the number of mobility-impaired residents who live alone. Both neighborhoods have between 4,000 and 5,000 mobility-impaired New Yorkers living alone, the report shows.

These residents not only need more help during the coronavirus pandemic to get essential services like groceries or medical care, but also are among those that may be feeling the largest impact on their mental health, Stringer said.

"They are stuck at home, cut off from friends and loved ones, lonely and anxious," he wrote. "In a city of small apartments and smaller living rooms, it is in the streets and parks and bars and theaters where our social lives are played out and fulfilled. Under quarantine, this is no longer possible."

Stringer's report laid out four recommendations for how to the city and state could be doing more to help these populations, including ensuring home health aides are protected, ramping up food delivery, having pharmacies prioritize requests from those that are homebound or vulnerable and proactively reaching out to every senior in New York City.

"We are defined as a society by how we treat our most vulnerable," Stringer said. "We have the tools, we have the data, we have the solutions, and right now — not later — is the time to act.”

Read the full report here.