Celebrating 99: Bayside Super Senior Honored By State Politicians

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — One Bayside super senior celebrated a year shy of her centennial with a surprise appearance from state politicians, who awarded the birthday girl with honorary proclamations, according to a recent release.

Luz Olmo Hernandez turned 99 year old on Aug. 5, surrounded by friends and family at Ozanam Hall Nursing Home in Bayside, Queens.

Hernandez, a native of Rio Piedra in Puerto Rico, moved to New York City in 1918 to make a better life for herself and her two children, Carmen and Luis. Her third child, Jasmine, was born right in the city, the release said.

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She worked as a seamstress while raising her three children as a single mother, working at a variety of garment factories throughout her career until 1981, when, per the release, she began helping a friend at a bridal shop at 115th Street and Third Avenue.

Hernandez and her family took up residence in East Harlem, where she lived for nearly 70 years before moving to the Ozanam Hall Nursing Home in Bayside, her current residence, to live closer to her daughter and grandson, the release said.

Hernandez’s daughter and grandson, Carmen Hughes and John Christian Hughes, planned the birthday party, according to the release. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

“Throughout her 99 years, Ms. Hernandez has proven herself a true New Yorker who is dedicated to her community,” State Sen. Tony Avella, who attended the party with Assemblyman Ed Braunstein, said in the release.

“I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with Ms. Hernandez.”

Images courtesy of Katie Schlientz/Lead image (left to right) features Carmen Hughes, Luz Hernandez and Assemblyman Braunstein