Brooklyn Senior Celebrates 104th Birthday With A Party

BROOKLYN, NY — Jeanette Bigelson, one of Coney Island’s oldest residents, turned 104 years old last week.

To help put that in perspective, she was born in 1920, a whole decade before construction of the Empire State Building began.

Bigelson, who celebrated her birthday with friends at JASA’s Luna Park Older Adult Center in Coney Island, danced her way into her 104th year, officials said.

She grew up on Manhattan's Lower East Side, then a neighborhood predominantly inhabited by working-class immigrants. As a child, Bigelson said she often visited Coney Island with her mother, forming fond memories of the area.

She ultimately got married and gave birth to her first child at the age of 20, dedicating her life to raising her children.

In 1964, Bigelson and her family relocated to the newly constructed Warbasse Houses in Coney Island, where they settled and where she continues to reside today.

Even at 104 years old, Bigelson remains an active member of JASA’s Luna Park Annex Older Adult Center, which she affectionately considers her "second home." At the center, she participates in various activities, such as group lunches, exercise classes and art classes.

Bigelson said that she credits her long and happy life to several factors, including gratitude, self-care and the simple joys of walking on the beach and listening to the waves.