Sunday, November 20, 2016

The pilot program to house NYU students with local seniors

The Post brings news of a pilot program that NYU will debut next fall in partnership with University Settlement, a Lower East Side nonprofit that provides social services to low-income seniors.

Per the Post:

Students who opt in to the “home stay” program would slice their $14,000-per-year housing bill in half.

Under the plan, cash-strapped students will get a break on rent, and seniors will get extra cash.

While the the initial program "will consist of 10 mature juniors, seniors or grad students," the Post dropped in this lead: "Beer pong at Grandma’s?"

There is a similar housing program for college students in Chicago.

14 comments:

Giovanni said...

This housing program will make "Weekend At Bernie's" look like a PBS documentary. They should call it Air-Senior-B.

Anonymous said...

If NYU is behind this then it is only meant to help NYU.

cmarrtyy said...

Sounds like a sitcom in the making. I can see it now... a junkie student rooms with a senior. The medicine cabinet is cornucopia of drugs from opioids to stool softeners. Hmm... which is which? Oh, take both. The student spends the night shitting him/herself and the senior takes the opioid to cope with all the shit. The student and senior naturally develop a dependent relation on each other. "Touching. Moving. A new look at growing old."(NYTimes). "A new way of getting high,(High Times). Lots of possibilities... Sorry about tripping along but it is funny.

Anonymous said...

"initial program will consist of 10 mature..." That's b/c out of NYU's student population, they'll be lucky to find 10 mature students.

I wouldn't let an NYU student live in my home; I don't even want to imagine the behaviors and the smugness and heaven-knows-what-else the senior citizens will be subjected to. If the student gets high or drunk, and beats the senior citizen up, is NYU responsible? What if they invite a friend over and the friend does something bad? IMO, this is a liability mess in the making.

IzF said...

May the Frat/Lemon Party Hybrid begin!!!

Anonymous said...

NYU...Always looking for a new $cam.

Anonymous said...

Fuck NYU. They have enough money. And they certainly aren't even Ivy League like Columbia. Why do people fawn over NYU? Overrated and overpriced.

Makeout said...

Giovanni- always hilarious!

Anonymous said...

Sounds as if this is modeled on Dutch nursing homes/senior residences in which students can live for free. I think the Dutch students are expected to participate in some activities with the elderly residents.

Hope this works.


Don't have much faith in NYU (real estate company pretending to be an academic institution) but if this works, would be great for the elderly residents.

DrGecko said...

@7:55. It'll be great as long as everybody doesn't wind up speaking Dutch. That language sounds terrible.

Anonymous said...

After NYU destroyed the housing stock in much of the village, this is funny. But the whole thing is meaningless. How can one write a story that perhaps 10 people, well less than 1/1,000ths of the NYU population, and perhaps (as in Chicago) some students of an unusual age, might live with seniors. My wife, who graduated from Baruch several decades ago but was at that time a non-traditional student (slightly older, and worked in a hardware store), lived with a retired couple on the Upper West Side. Nothing to see here

Dan C. said...

Back int he 90's, my then roommate worked at NYU and all employees received a letter concerning the lack of dormitory housing for the students...so, would NYU employees be able to take in a student, and in return the student "could help out around the house, help with your kids, run errands, etc."

In other words, these students paid a crapload (even back then) to attend NYU and they're also expected to work as nannies and maids for free???

I didn't hear of any NYU employee who took them up on this deal.

Anonymous said...

That is the worst idea I have heard in a very long time.

Adrianna said...

Do you guys actually know any NYU students?

I attended NYU 2007-2011. I lived with a woman in her 60s in East Village after my sophomore year. It was a great solution that benefited both of us. I knew others who found similiar situations.