KIPS BAY — Members of Community Board 6 saluted one of their own, longtime board member and champion of rights for elders Genevieve Cervera, who died on Sept. 11.
Cervera, 76, made an impact as a tireless advocate for her community and for its elderly residents, according to Board Chair Sandro Sherrod.
“She was such a big proponent of active living and lifelong learning for seniors,” Sherrod said.
Cervera was a native of The Bronx but lived for years in Waterside Plaza. In addition to her work for the Community Board, she worked with Manhattan’s Senior Planet, the Statewide Senior Action Council, and was a member of the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club.
Cervera had recently moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be near her family, according to Mark P. Thompson, of the Tilden Club, who remembered her fondly in a note to the group.
“Genevieve had the distinction of being the first person honored with the ‘Tilden Pen Light Salute’ and we will raise our pens in her memory at our next meeting,” Thompson wrote.
Cervera’s most recent stint on the Community Board began in April, 2014, after a brief sojourn from the city. A longtime Waterside resident, she had left the city for several years and tried living in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Charlotte, North Carolina but returned to New York because it was the only place she felt at home, she told DNAInfo at the time.
“I said I better go back to New York, because no one speaks my language anywhere else,” Cervera said on her return to the neighborhood. “You won’t find this much citizen participation in Charlotte or Santa Fe.”
Cervera’s family held a private memorial service, according to Sherrod.
