Flushing House

I don’t reside here. Nor do I know anyone who is a resident but I attended one of their open house tours and it seems like a really nice place to live when you no longer feel comfortable living on your own for whatever reason. And compared to other senior places, the fees seem quite reasonable. Nice to know that should I ever need to live in a senior residence, there is such a place as Flushing House. I highly recommend anyone to attend one of their open house events (they’re held fairly regularly) and have a look yourself.

My MIL was aging alone in her house in Florida, where she had retired about 15 years ago. She could no longer live there alone, and we asked her to consider moving back to Queens, where we could visit her more frequently and, frankly, keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay. We visited the usual assisted living places, but Flushing House stood out far and above the new and shiny places.
Here’s why.
1. Price. I’m going to start here, because it’s the real issue for older adults and their family members. How much does «independent living» actually cost? Assisted living in the NYC area runs around $ 4−6K a month. That buys you a nice lobby, pretty good food in a nice-​looking dining room, weekly housekeeping, and some light programming. It does NOT buy you the home health care, nursing, or the types of services most seniors probably need by the time they and their families are thinking of moving to a this kind of setting.
Here’s the thing: Flushing House also provides all of those things, but for about half the price. They don’t imply that they can provide the «added» costs — in fact, they will be very honest with you that home health care, physical therapy, and nursing will cost you more. But! They do make it easy for you to coordinate care: there’s three doctors who share an office on-​site, two home health agencies, and a physical therapy office. You don’t need to use any of them — in fact, we have my MIL going to our family doctor. But that’s okay. You don’t get penalized or pressured to use any of the services. They are there only for convenience.
2. The dining room. First and foremost, the food here is EXCELLENT. We’ve eaten here with my MIL several times, and the food is well cooked, has a great deal of variety in its offerings. The options are wonderful — and make the difference in creating a «we’re stuck with the menu the kitchen as provided» that usually shows up in senior settings, and making residents feel like they’re at a restaurant.
Which goes to the next really important part of the dining experience. Senior settings can be as cliquish as middle-​schools. People save seats and tell others that they can’t sit at the table. They will demand that they sit at «their» table each time. Flushing House has figured out how to deal with that in a gentle and polite way. First — you want to sit with your friends? Then you wait to be seated until all your friends arrive — just like most Manhattan restaurants. Boom — «saving» seats is not an issue. Second, because Flushing House has a captive audience, the kitchen staff gets to know its residents. They consciously seat newcomers with gregarious residents, to encourage engagement and a sense of welcome. They gently direct residents that may not get along to different tables. The result? A great dining experience. Oh — and guests are welcome.
3. Onsite services. As I mentioned in the above, there’s a number of services on-​site that can be accessed. Here’s the stuff that comes FREE with residency (okay, technically not free, but included in the monthly rent):
a. Weekly housekeeping and weekly linens washing (Flushing House provides towels and sheets to its residents, although they can bring their own as well!).
b. The wifi and the basic cable. And Flushing House has its own station, which works like those lovely CC on cruise ships: it tells you day, time, temperature, today’s menu, today’s activities, silly jokes, and useful information.
c. Activities. Flushing House includes several activity rooms, which provide exercise programs, discussion groups, movies, arts and crafts classes, and other programming that is typical for a senior program. The offerings are pretty diverse, and reflect the diversity of Queens and the Flushing House residents.
d. Security. If mom didn’t make it down to lunch, someone will call her. Or knock on her door. The Resident Director will check in. The front desk (staffed 24 hours) knows the residents by name and face. It’s a vigilant, but friendly system.
d. Spiritual support. There is an on-​site chapel, which offers Friday night Shabbat service, Sunday morning communion for Catholics, a weekly mindful meditation program, and a Sunday afternoon Protestant service every week.
e. A lovely roof with a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline and the Whitestone and Throg’s Neck bridges, safe from the elements under glass. It’s like a private conservatory easily accessible even if your mode of transportation is a wheelchair. In the summer, the unglassed areas on the roof are places for exercise, barbecues, and outdoor concerts.
f. Weekly van trips to local stores, concerts, and events.
4. The «add-​on» services. I’ve mentioned the medical services available on site. There’s also a beauty salon, a notions store — and the residents themselves opened a consignment shop.
If you’re looking for a private-​pay, affordable independent living experience for your loved one, Flushing House is your top choice in NY

The residents her are happy and well taken care of. It’s important to remember that this is not a nursing home or hospice, this is strictly independent so when I went here I was surprised at how lovely the place is. All the activities are a vibrant and dynamic and they have a van trip twice a week all over nyc. They even have a rock and roll band called the flushing house band which is made up of 6 or so of their actual residents. I bought their last album on iTunes… No joke!!!

Planning to retire? Want to stay in Flushing? Want a safe community with everyone is around your age (60+)? Join the Flushing House (If you have enough money)! On the first floor alone is a 24-​hour security desk, cafeteria, library, movie room, and a clinic!
Okay, it does look really nice, but I’m not planning to retire soon. Actually, I came here to vote. This is my local voting center. Just walk straight down the hall passing the elevators and it’s the huge room on the left.
But it does look like a nice place to retire.