NORC WOW

                          83-51 268th Street
Floral Park, NY 11004
(718) 347-2244
fax: (718) 347-0007
e-mail: norcwow@sfy.org

Naturally Occurring Retirement Community With Out Walls 
Life just got easier…In your own home, in the neighborhood you love


 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                                          Contact:  
Tuesday, October 12, 2004                                                                                       Corey Bearak
                                                                                           -or-    Yvonne Gelbord (718) 347-2244   
                                               
NORC WOW OPENS OFFICE TO HELP SENIORS STAY IN COMMUNITY
Ribbon Cutting, Thursday, October 14, 2004, 11 a.m.

 
            Elected Officials and community leaders cut the ribbon to officially open the NORC WOW (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Without Walls) community office, Thursday, October 14, at 11:00 a.m., at 83-51 268th Street just off the north side of Hillside Avenue, announced NORC WOW steering committee co-chairs Sue Noreika and Corey Bearak.

Open House, Tuesday, October 19, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

            A Community Open House to introduce the new NORC WOW office, staffed by Director Yvonne Gelboard, CSW, Darlene Dindial, CSW, Janet Golan, RN and Dale Chaiken, RN, takes place, Tuesday, October 19, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the NORC-WOW office, 83-51 268th Street in Floral Park. Refreshments will be served and all guests will receive a token welcome gift.  (Rain date is Thursday, October 21, same time)
 
            "Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, or NORCs, found in apartment buildings and apartment complexes scattered throughout the metropolitan area, resulted from a population that aged in place," stated Mrs. Norieka, who serves on the Executive Board of Service Now for Adult Persons (SNAP), was chair of Community Board 13, and whose career in the community's life includes roles in local civic, PTA and youth groups..  "Most prefer to remain in the community but some may face an inability to remain in their homes without some additional help and services.  The infusion of social and recreational services in these communities became known as NORC supportive services."
 
            "NORC WOW represents the first attempt to address the aging in place phenomenon in a community of single-family homes anywhere in the United States.  NORC WOW serves parts of Bellerose, Floral Park and New Hyde Park in eastern Queens," advised Mr. Bearak, an attorney and consultant who chairs the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council and serves as Executive Vice President of the borough-wide Queens Civic Congress.  "Community based agencies, the community and public officials created this partnership with plans to provide such services as chore service, informational and referral assistance, entitlements counseling, case assistance and management, public health nursing and chronic care management, health screenings and health education, social and recreational activities, and adult day programs."   NORC WOW also established an advocacy committee to address the transportation needs of the community's seniors.
 
            "Our model seeks to help seniors who face tough challenges in maintaining their independence, remain in their single-family homes and in the community," said Mrs. Gelbord, NORC WOW Project Director. It is funded to serve seniors living between Union Turnpike/ 76th Avenue/ the Farm Museum and Hillside Avenue, from the city line to the eastern bounds of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.
 
            NORC WOW, operated by the Samuel Field YM-YWHA, receives financial support from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, UJA-Federation and the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation.  The Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council worked to galvanize support from the community and its elected officials, including Members of Congress Gary L. Ackerman, Gregory Meeks, State Senator Frank Padavan, Assembly Members Mark Weprin, Ann Margaret Carrozza and Barbara Clark, City Council Member David Weprin, and City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.  Local civics, Houses of Worship, social service providers, including SNAP, North Shore-LIJ Health Systems, the United Hospital Fund and many local businesses that serve this unique community all support NORC WOW. 
 
WHO:                   NORC-WOW, community members, including seniors
 
WHAT:                 NORC-WOW Community Open House
 
WHEN:                 Tuesday, October 19, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. [rain date, Oct. 21]
 
WHERE                83-51 268th Street, off the north side of Hillside Avenue, in
                              Floral Park

 
 

-30-


 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                              Contact:  Corey Bearak
Monday, October 27, 2003                                                      -or- Yvonne Gelbord (718) 225-6750 x238

SAFETY, DISASTER & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR SENIORS
Forum in Glen Oaks, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.

             The NORC WOW (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Without Walls) holds a community-wide forum for senior citizens addressing the issues of safety, emergency and disaster preparedness, Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, at HSBC Bank 257-15 Union Turnpike in the Glen Oaks Shopping Center, announced NORC WOW steering committee co-chairs Sue Noreika and Corey Bearak.  The event will provide seniors, their family members, and caretakers with critical information regarding the precautions they can take to keep themselves safe in times of natural disasters, extreme inclement weather, and emergency situations.  Through presentations from the Police and Fire Departments, the American Red Cross and the Office of the Public Advocate,  participants will gain the tools they need to create their own disaster plans of action.  This FREE event also includes tips on safety for seniors, and important materials and information will be available for seniors to take home as resources.  Refreshments will be served.  For more information, contact Yvonne Gelbord, NORC WOW Project Director at (718) 225-6750 x 238.

              "In addition to learning how to creating your own "disaster plan of action, our forum offer community members an opportunity to learn more about NORC WOW," stated Mrs. Noreika, who serves on the Executive Board of Service Now for Adult Persons (SNAP), was chair of Community Board 13, and whose career in the community's life includes roles in local civic, PTA and youth groups.  "This forum provides further evidence that NORC WOW represents an important new addition to the community."

              Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, or NORCs, found in apartment buildings and apartment complexes scattered throughout the country, resulted from an a population that aged in place.  Most prefer to remain in the community but some may face an inability to remain in their homes without some additional help and services.  The infusion of social and recreational services in these communities became known as NORC supportive services. 

              "The first attempt to address the NORC phenomenon in a community of single-family homes anywhere in the United States, NORC WOW serves parts of Bellerose, Floral Park and New Hyde Park in eastern Queens," advised Mr. Bearak, an attorney and consultant who chairs the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council and serves as Executive Vice President of the borough-wide Queens Civic Congress.  "Community based agencies, the community and public officials created this partnership with plans to provide such services as chore service, informational and referral assistance, entitlements counseling, case assistance and management, public health nursing and chronic care management, health screenings and health education, social and recreational activities, and adult day programs."   NORC-WOW also established an advocacy committee to address the transportation needs of the community's seniors.

              "Our model seeks to help seniors living on their own remain in their single-family homes and the community and face tough challenges in maintaining their independence," said Mrs. Gelbord, NORC WOW Project Director. It is funded to serve seniors living between Union Turnpike/ 76th Avenue/ the Farm Museum and Hillside Avenue, from the city line to the eastern bounds of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.

              NORC WOW, created by the UJA-Federation, through its agencies, the Samuel Field YM-YWHA and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), receives financial support from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.  The community's elected officials, including Members of Congress Gregory Meeks and Gary Ackerman, State Senator Frank Padavan, Assembly Members Mark Weprin, Ann Margaret Carrozza and Barbara Clark, City Council Member David Weprin, and City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, support NORC WOW, as do the local civics, Houses of Worship, social service providers, including SNAP, North Shore-LIJ Health Systems, the United Hospital Fund and many local businesses that serve this unique community.

-30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                     Contact: Corey Bearak
Friday, August 1, 2003                                                                                    -or- Y vonne Gelbord
                                                                                                 
                    
(718) 225-6750 x238
                                                                                               
            

 New Program WOWs Seniors in Eastern Queens

Services to Provide a Caring Community For Seniors  

            A brand new program in eastern Queens seeks to help seniors living on their own remain in their single-family homes and the community and face tough challenges in maintaining their independence.  NORC WOW  (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Without Walls), a partnership created by community based agencies, the community and public officials plans to provide services such as transportation, chore service, informational and referral social services, entitlements counseling, case assistance and management, public health nursing and chronic care management, health screenings and health education, social and recreational activities, adult day programs, to seniors living in Bellerose, Floral Park and New Hyde Park between Union Turnpike/ 76th Avenue and Hillside Avenue, from the city line to the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center's eastern boundary.  A Town Hall to further introduce the special initiative takes place 6:30 p.m., Monday August 4, 2003 at HSBC, 257-15 Union Turnpike and a Senior Leadership Meeting is set for 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, August 12, 2003 at M.S. 172 Beacon School, 81-12 257th Street (A prior town meeting took place Tuesday, July 22 at SNAP Senior Center).  For more information, contact Yvonne Gelbord, NORC WOW Project Director at (718) 225-6750 x 238.  

            "We created the NORC-WOW in a community not built for seniors, but where residents aged in place, to give seniors a program they help design to help them with issues and problems they face everyday," added Corey Bearak, an attorney and consultant who co-chairs the NORC WOW steering committee with former Community Board Chair 13 Sue Noreika.  Both co-chairs agree that NORC WOW represents an important new addition to the community.  “We expect the NORC WOW to help create a better quality of life for seniors and their families living in the community,” said Mrs. Noreika, an Executive Board Member of Service Now for Adult Persons (SNAP) whose long career in the community's life also includes roles in local civic, PTA and youth groups.  Mr. Bearak chairs the Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council and serves as Executive Vice President of the borough-wide Queens Civic Congress.  

            "This past winter, one of the worst in recent memory, senior homeowners struggled with the difficult task of shoveling snow and clearing ice," stated Rabbi Robert Kaplan, of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New York (JCRC), an agency of the UJA-Federation which created the pilot program with the Samuel Field YM&YWHA.  "As the weather warmed, senior homeowners faced the need to make home repairs, an often physical and financial strain for the elderly.  Others, living in homes away from convenient public transportation, get challenged daily with finding a way to get to their doctor or the grocery store."  

            “It is unfortunate when seniors can no longer live in the homes where they have raised their children and played with their grandchildren,” said Steve Goodman, Executive Director of the Samuel Field YM-YWHA.  Through the innovative NORC WOW program, we can empower seniors to remain in their homes.  NORC WOW supportive service programs seek to mobilize both community and professional resources and provide invaluable full-range services for community seniors.”  

            "NORC WOW already commenced a needs-assessment survey of all 2500 seniors living in the area, to ensure the new program provides seniors living in the new NORC area with the services they most need, added Linda Leest, Executive Director of SNAP, the senior center and program funded by the City to service the community's seniors, and a partner in this neighborhood-based initiative.  

            The community’s elected officials, including Members of Congress Gregory Meeks and Gary Ackerman, State Senator Frank Padavan, Assembly Members Mark Weprin, Ann Margaret Carrozza and Barbara Clark, City Council Member David Weprin, and City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, support NORC WOW, as do the local civics, Houses of Worship, social service providers, including SNAP, North Shore-LIJ Health Systems, the United Hospital Fund and many local businesses that serve this unique community.   

            Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, or NORCs, found in apartment buildings and apartment complexes scattered throughout the country, resulted from an a population that aged in place.  Most prefer to remain in the community but some may face an inability to remain in their homes without some additional help and services.  The infusion of social and recreational services in these communities became known as NORC supportive services.  "NORC WOW is the first national attempt to address the NORC phenomenon in a community of single-family homes," stated Anita Altman of UJA-Federation.  

            “There’s no reason why this model can’t work in single-family home communities,” said Yvonne Gelbord, the NORC WOW Project Director.  "Seniors in these communities also have common needs, which our Without Walls NORC will provide them."  

            NORC WOW, created by the UJA-Federation, through its agencies, the Samuel Field YM-YWHA and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), received financial support from the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.  

-30-