Upper West Side Woman Turns 108 Years Old

By Gus Saltonstall

When Sylvia Levine was born in 1916, Woodrow Wilson was president, World War I was raging, the Roaring 20s were around the corner, and the stock market crash was still 13 years away.

On Monday, July 22, Levine celebrated her 108th birthday at her home at Atria West 86th on the Upper West Side.

Levine celebrated the day with friends and family.

Levine, who was 50 years old in 1966, said that one of her secrets to living a long life was to “look up and never look down.”

She still goes to weekly cultural outings in the city with her daughter, and does a daily dinner with her friend Helen at Atria West 86th, where she gets either a double portion of coffee or ice cream.

During her party, Levine expressed a sense of surprise that she has lived so long, and was grateful that people continued to celebrate the day with her.

Outside of meals, she fills her days at the Atria with exercise that helps her ability to walk, concerts and lectures, and going to nearby places in the neighborhood.

Levine has lived at Atria West 86th since the fall of 2018.

New York ranks in the top five states with the most people above the age of 105 per 100,000 residents, with only Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. above it.

While 108 is obviously a rare age to reach, Levine is still nearly a decade younger than the current oldest person in the world. Maria Branyas Morera, who was born in Spain in 1907, turned 117 years old this March.

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