What Is A NORC
A Naturally Occurring Retirement Community, or NORC, is a place where a large number of older adults live together but not in a planned retirement community. These are regular neighborhoods, apartment buildings, or housing complexes that, over time, became home to many older residents. In New York, NORCs emerged as a way to support aging in place without requiring people to leave their homes or communities.
The Penn South cooperative illustrates how an ordinary housing complex evolved into a NORC and remains a model for supportive services today:
The most famous and probably the first is Penn South in Chelsea, lower Manhattan. Originally, the International Garment Workers Union developed cooperative housing adding up to 2,820 apartments in 10 high rises. As the population aged out, social workers and staff at Penn South formed Penn South Program for Seniors. PSPS continues to function to this day with a combination of municipal and state agencies, as well as not-for-profit and private entities.[1]
NORCs are not retirement villages created by design. They are the result of demographic shifts and community stability.
How NORCs Work
NORCs pair residents with supportive services that help them stay independent. These services can include health care, case management, social work, transportation, and social activities. A lead agency—often a nonprofit—coordinates the services. The partnerships usually involve housing providers, health systems, social service organizations, local government, and residents themselves.
NORCs rely on collaboration. They bring together public resources, private funding, and resident participation.
The Public Private Partnership Model
NORCs are a clear example of a public private partnership. The funding and support typically come from multiple sources:
- Government programs at the state and city level
- Nonprofits and philanthropic organizations
- Contributions from housing providers
- In kind and financial support from residents
This blended approach allows NORCs to deliver services in a cost effective way that benefits everyone. Older adults receive the help they need, and the community avoids higher costs of institutional care.
Why NORCs Matter
NORCs are significant because they:
- Allow older New Yorkers to age in place affordably
- Preserve social ties and community bonds
- Provide access to health and social services on site
- Delay or prevent costly institutional care
These benefits explain why the Master Plan for Aging includes them among its proposals for expanding housing and supportive services for older adults.
NORCs And The Master Plan For Aging
New York’s Master Plan for Aging identifies housing access and community development as central pillars. Within that framework, Proposal 17 highlights community housing models, including Neighborhood/Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities. The proposal calls for expanding existing N/NORC programs, securing new funding, and piloting approaches such as resident assistants in affordable housing where older adults make up most of the population. It also sets aside resources for nursing and health care services, program evaluation, and the development of other supportive housing options.
By including NORCs in the Master Plan at the proposal stage, New York is signaling their potential value as a cost effective way to help older residents remain independent in their own communities. Whether these ideas take hold will depend on legislative approval, budget priorities, and program design.
The Future Of NORCs In New York
New York pioneered the NORC model in the 1980s, and it has since expanded across the state. Today, there are dozens of NORC supportive service programs operating in urban, suburban, and rural settings. The Master Plan for Aging’s Proposal 17 points toward further growth, but this depends on funding and implementation. If carried out, the proposal could strengthen NORCs and position them as a key part of the state’s strategy to help older adults live with dignity, safety, and independence in their own communities.
Further Reading
- NYS Office for the Aging – Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities
- Urban Health Foundation – Good Place to Grow Old Report
- New York Master Plan for Aging Final Report (June 30, 2025)
Neil T. Rimsky, Aging in Place: Changes and Innovation, 29 N.Y. St. B. Ass’n Elder & Special Needs L.J. 23, 23 (Spring 2019). ↩︎
Hani Sarji
New York lawyer who cares about people, is fascinated by technology, and is writing his next book, Estate of Confusion: New York.
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