HUDSON HEIGHTS — Judging by her weeklong birthday celebration, there are two things that have kept Tilly Herz going strong for the past 107 years — good friends and cake.
Herz, the oldest resident of the Fort Tryon Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, was surrounded by friends past and present last week at the Hudson Heights residence, where she rung in her 107th year on Sunday, Jan. 17.
She also had a steady diet of cake throughout the week — so much so that the nursing home didn't let her indulge her sweet tooth Friday, because this particular confection wasn't an approved meal for the centenarian.
"I want a special cake," Herz exclaimed, despite the fact that she had been dining on it all week. "Everybody gets cake but me!"
The celebrations for Herz have been big affairs since 2010, when she first arrived to the center, said activities director Yelena Sudarikova.
"We had cake, she got all dressed up, and we sang, 'Happy 107, Tilly!'" Sudarikova said of the festivities.
Even as the center's oldest resident, Herz regularly does her hair and enjoys getting dressed up — birthday or not, Sudarikova added.
“I’ve been here for many years,” Herz said, surrounded by her friends Hannah Berkowitz, 84, Edith Zildovec, 65, and Hildegarde Lehrberger, 93.
The women get together once a week, with each representing a different time in Herz's long life.
Lehrberger grew up with Herz in Frankfurt, Germany, and also lives with her at the nursing home. Berkowitz, also a resident, met Herz when she arrived in Inwood during the 1940s with her husband, Ludwig Herz. Zildovec, who met Herz about a decade ago, doesn't live at the center but helps care for her.
Lehrberger said Herz was very popular and well-loved in their village back home, where the elder worked in the German stock market and was considered "the queen."
"She was very smart — and still that way!" Lehrberger said.
The two lost contact when the Herzes left their village for England shortly after the start of World War II, Lehrberger said.
As the war moved into England, Herz moved again — but this time to New York City. The couple settled at 204th Street and Broadway. Herz lost her husband young, she said, although she didn't remember how long ago.
In Inwood, the couple found new friends and a strong community, she explained. While they didn't have any children, Herz found a love for making children's clothing.
Berkowitz and Zildovec said that when Herz wasn't working, she spent most of her time playing cards, listening to music, attending functions at her neighborhood synagogue and visiting the Y on Nagle Avenue.
Despite all those meeting places, Herz said her favorite was the benches along the Dyckman Farmhouse on Broadway near her longtime home.
"The benches were right there across the street,” Berkowitz said. “My mother would socialize with her there. And I would socialize with her, too.”
Zildovec said she met and started taking care of Herz when she was 98, after friends asked if she could "babysit" her.
The two became great friends shortly after meeting. Despite Herz's age, Zildovec said there was very little that she needed to do for her.
But Lehrberger said Zildovec has done more than enough. "She loves her and listens to her," Lehrberger said.
For Herz, the weekly gatherings and — of course — the cake, are par for the course.
“Everybody loves me!” she said.
