AARP Hearing Center
AARP Livable Communities Map
Village of Castleton-on-Hudson (2018) Print
2018 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Public space activation
└ Public space activation
The Village of Castleton-on-Hudson regularly hosts a Repair Cafe event, where volunteers repaired any item brought to them, if possible. One problem: the event takes place on the second floor of a Village Hall, which has no elevator. This posed an accessibility issue -- locals often complained about climbing the building's difficult staircase. To solve this, the Village moved its Repair Cafe to Noyes Engine House. They also worked to activate a vacant lot next door, installing a community bulletin board, benches and planters onsite. The improvements support wider efforts to revitalize the village's downtown, with the goal of drawing more people to the central business district.
Photo Gallery
Image:
Click on a photo to learn more
See More Projects Like This One
Snohomish, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To give families an intergenerational outdoor activity, Friends of the Snohomish Library installed a story trail. They set up weather-protected stations at several points along a path, each designed to display pages from a storybook. This allows grandparents and parents with children to walk the path and read together, moving from station to station to piece each part of the story. To give families a reason to return, a children's librarian changes the story displayed four times a year. Since installation, project organizers report other communities have replicated the project, creating their own story walks.
Seattle, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2019
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To help the Southwest Seattle Senior Center become a safer and more inviting gathering space, organizers with Rebuilding Together Seattle made physical improvements to the facility. This included refurbishing handrails, demolishing a shed and replacing it with expanded ADA-compliant parking for members, repainting the building's faade and sprucing up landscaping. RTS used the project to promote its Open Volunteer Days, attracting people from the community to assist with the work. The Center serves an area of Seattle with the city's highest poverty rates and largest share of low-income residents. Project organizers said they hoped the improvements would help position the Center as a safe haven and community hub.
Glen Ullin, ND
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Outdoor options for older adults were scarce in Glen Ullin, leaving few chances for social connection. That changed when two permanent concrete cornhole games were installed-one at a playground and another downtown-giving residents a simple, fun way to stay active. Volunteers hosted instructional events, and soon people of all ages were stopping by to play. "These games are so awesome, people stop over while we are playing and want to join the fun," said one resident. The project turned idle spaces into lively gathering spots, fostering engagement and movement for everyone.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Albany, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Walk Audits
Description: In Albany's South End, unsafe streets and concerns about violence make walking risky for residents who rely on it as their main transportation. To address this, the organization led 10 walk audits across key blocks, engaging 27 older adults to pinpoint hazards and recommend improvements. Findings will guide advocacy for safer streetscapes and violence prevention. One participant said she was thankful someone was doing an audit in her neighborhood, which she felt was often overlooked.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Albany, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The Underground Railroad Education Center constructed an accessible, indoor garden in the Arbor Hill neighborhood, whose residents lack access to fresh produce and gardening space. Designed for year-round use, the new hoop house represents an intergenerational collaboration between younger and older adults. Local teenagers created and installed planters and now help grow food there. Albany businesses and volunteers also contributed to the project by building benches for the site. Today, the Center grows produce, such as lettuce, in the greenhouse, which it donates to people in the community.
LEARN MORE AND STAY INFORMED
Find articles and resources about making communities more livable for people of all ages
Download or order free publications from AARP Livable Communities
Sign up for the free, weekly, award-winning AARP Livable Communities eNewsletter
Don't see your community listed?
LEARN HOW IT CAN JOIN THE NETWORKConnect with your AARP State Office
AARP has offices in all 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
AARP New York State Office
750 Third Avenue
Floor 31
New York, NY 10017
United States