10 Best Assisted Living Facilities in Staten Island, NY

On Staten Island, the average monthly cost of assisted living is around $6,700 a month, according to A Place for Mom’s proprietary data from its partner communities. This is substantially cheaper than our assisted living partner communities in Manhattan, which is approximately $12,000 a month.^[03]

A Place for Mom’s assisted living partner communities in Queens and the Bronx are similarly priced to Staten Island at around $6,300 per month and $6,900 per month, respectively. Brooklyn remains the most affordable New York borough at approximately $4,300 a month, as noted in A Place for Mom’s proprietary data from its partner communities.^[03]

Each borough has a unique spice to local life. If you’ve lived in a borough your entire life, or prefer a borough that meets your individual preferences, it may be worth paying a little more to be in the neighborhood that matters the most to you.

Cost of assisted living on Staten Island: What’s included?

It’s a good idea to understand what’s included in a baseline monthly fee versus A Place for Mom’s data, which incorporates costs of services referred seniors added on. Typically, the baseline monthly fee includes rent for a unit, some care services, meals, and usage of on-site amenities.

A Place for Mom’s proprietary data includes additional services that seniors added onto their baseline services. The following are frequently added services included in the monthly costs seniors referred by A Place for Mom actually paid:

• Laundry services and housekeeping
• Maintenance and landscaping
• Socialization opportunities, such as clubs, holiday celebrations, and birthday parties
• Daily meals, including snacks
• On-site amenities, such as fitness centers, libraries, movie theaters, and beauty salons

While the above figures can help you estimate costs, expenses at assisted living communities can vary widely. It’s important to ask about all additional costs and how fees are structured when touring a prospective community.

It’s normal to feel overwhelmed when looking at the monthly costs of assisted living, but there are many different ways to pay for senior care today. It’s common among older adults to use a combination of private funds and public pay options to pay for assisted living.

Private pay options for Staten Island assisted living

The following are some of the most popular private pay options that seniors use to pay for assisted living:

• Selling a home
• Borrowing from a life insurance policy
• Using long-term care insurance
• Taking out a reverse mortgage
• Using funds from a health savings accounts (HSA)

For more information on payment options for Staten Island seniors, you can read through the payment section on our NYC page or review our guide to paying for long-term care.

Public pay options for Staten Island assisted living

On Staten Island, older adults can also receive localized support with public pay options by connecting with the NYC Department for the Aging. If you have challenges with accessing public pay options on Staten Island, you can contact the Office of the Borough President of Staten Island’s Helpline for Constituent Services.

Read on to learn more about specific public pay programs that may be available to Staten Island seniors.

Can Medicare pay for assisted living on Staten Island?

As a federal health insurance program for people 65+, Medicare cannot cover room and board expenses for assisted living. However, it may cover some medical costs for eligible older adults.

Seniors on Staten Island can review New York State’s community-based long-term care guide to learn more about the type of things that Medicare may cover.

For further assistance, seniors can also contact a local Social Security Administration (SSA) office on Staten Island. To find the nearest location, use the Social Security Office Locator search portal. First, you’ll need to type in your ZIP code. Next, select “I Need Other Services.” This will show a list of nearby locations.

Can Medicaid pay for assisted living on Staten Island?

New York State Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income people funded jointly by the state and federal governments, cannot cover the cost of room and board in assisted living communities in the Bronx.

However, eligible seniors on Staten Island may be able to cover some care costs associated with assisted living through the state’s Assisted Living Program (ALP). Participants must meet specific care requirements to utilize this program. Program restrictions limit how many elder New Yorkers can participate in the ALP. A waiting list may apply to this program.

If you need help with Medicaid, you should consider reaching out to one of the local NYC Medicaid offices outlined below.

Staten Island

215 Bay St.
Staten Island, NY 10301
Phone: 929-221-8823 or 929-221-8824
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET

Brooklyn South

785 Atlantic Ave., 1st Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Phone: 929-221-3502
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET

Can VA benefits pay for assisted living on Staten Island?

Out of the more than 200,000 veterans in NYC, more than 10% reside on Staten Island.^[04] Generally, the VA does not directly pay for room and board for assisted living. However, eligible veterans, military retirees, and other military-connected individuals may be able to participate in VA programs or benefits that can help them pay for costs related to assisted living. Additionally, there may be discounts at some of A Place for Mom’s assisted living partner communities that can help offset the cost of care.

Some VA programs or benefits give funding to a qualified individual to spend at their discretion — this money may be spent on room and board for assisted living if the individual chooses to use it that way.

The following VA programs can help cover assisted living related expenses for eligible people:

• VA Aid and Attendance benefit
• VA disability compensation
• VA health benefits
• VA Pension
• Survivors Pension

It can be challenging to navigate VA benefits on your own. In addition to regional VA offices, veterans can receive benefits counseling from many veteran service organizations (or VSOs). These nonprofit groups offer veterans community and other supports, including benefits counseling. The local offices below can help seniors and their families access important veteran records and learn more about their eligible VA programs.

NYC Department of Veterans’ Services — Staten Island

Boro Hall Building

10 Richmond Terrace, Room G-15
Staten Island, NY 10301

Phone: 212-416-5250

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — New York Regional Office

201 Varick St., 4th Floor
New York, NY 10014

Phone: 800-827-1000

Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs)
Note: All VSOs listed below are at this address, though phone numbers are different.

Paralyzed Veterans of America

Phone: 212-807-3114

American Legion

Phone: 212-807-3066

Disabled American Veterans
Phone: 212-807-3157

New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs

Phone: 212-807-3162

One in 18 New Yorkers live on Staten Island, but it maintains a small town vibe in the heart of one of the world’s biggest cities. Across the last decade, Staten Island is the borough with the slowest growing population.^[05] Compared to the other boroughs, Staten Island feels more suburban with individual homes, dedicated parks, and green spaces. This borough also boasts a lower serious crime rate than NYC as a whole, which makes for a relatively peaceful place for older adults to reside.^[02]

The majority of Staten Island residents (about 69.8%) own their own homes, compared to greater NYC’s homeownership rate of 33.3%. Additionally, the median income ($91,310) on Staten Island is 27% higher than greater NYC’s median income.^[02]

Care and amenities on Staten Island assisted living

The majority (over 75%) of A Place for Mom’s partner assisted living communities also offer memory care in their facilities. This makes it easier for seniors to age in place if they develop memory loss challenges over time.

Here is a further breakdown of the types of services and amenities our partner assisted living communities offer on Staten Island:^[03]

• Almost all host on-site clubs (like book, gardening, game, and other interest clubs) to promote socialization.
• Over 75% offer an on-site physician or comparable medical provider.
• Around 33.3% provide a pet-friendly environment, which may bring comfort to seniors who are deeply connected to their pets.

In addition, the following services, amenities, and activities can typically be found in A Place for Mom’s partner communities on Staten Island:^[03]

• Cultural and devotional services, such as a visiting chaplain or Bible study group
• Educational programming, which may include art classes or wellness programs
• Pet-friendly community policies
• Fitness areas, such as an enclosed walking space or gym
• Mobility assistance devices, including Hoyer Lifts
• An on-site physician or similar medical provider

If a specific service, amenity, or activity is important to you, it’s a good idea to ask a prospective community about it during a tour.

As with anywhere you live, you likely want to know about the safety of your surroundings. Staten Island assisted living facilities — also called adult care facilities by New York State — are monitored by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). To maintain resident quality of care, NYSDOH usually inspects these kinds of facilities roughly every 12 months.

As a prospective resident, you may wish to view the publicly available information on a particular community through the NYSDOH website. If so, you can use the adult care facilities search portal to find this information. To navigate, first select “Richmond” in the county drop-down menu under “Select a Region/County.” Next, click on the blue hyperlinked name of an assisted living facility to see any information that may be available.

Staten Island is well-known for the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, which is a Smithsonian-affiliate organization. This historic venue brings arts, culture, recreation, and nature together in one place.

Seniors and their families may enjoy visiting the following places located within Snug Harbor:

• New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden
• Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art
• Staten Island Museum
• Noble Maritime Collection
• Staten Island Conservatory of Music

For those who enjoy the outdoors, Staten Island is known as the borough of parks. Some of its most notable NYC parks and green spaces include:

• Blue Heron Nature Center
• Blue Heron Park
• Lemon Creek Park
• Wolfe’s Pond Park
• Alice Austen Park

If you have mobility or accessibility concerns, it’s a good idea to reach out to these venues prior to visiting to learn about their unique features for people with disabilities. Senior discounts may also apply at some attractions on Staten Island.

Nestled in NYC, Staten Island provides a variety of quality health care options for older adults in the borough. Some of these options include the following:^[06]

• Staten Island University Hospital at Northwell Health. This hospital provides care and surgical support for older adults, including colon cancer surgery, lung cancer surgery, heart bypass surgery, and other procedures.
• Richmond University Medical Center. As a general medical and surgical facility, Richmond University Medical Center provides care disciplines such as geriatrics, neurology, nephrology, and neurosurgery.

It’s more common for Staten Island residents to use a mixture of private vehicles and public transportation to navigate the area than in the other boroughs. In fact, only 25.7% of people on Staten Island have a car-free commute.^[02]

If you or your loved one is comfortable driving, it may be a good idea to bring a vehicle to assisted living communities on Staten Island. Around 50% of A Place for Mom partner communities offer complimentary transportation options, while approximately 25% offer at-cost transportation.^[03]

If you have decided to no longer drive, taking the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s Staten Island bus lines may be ideal for you. For those with disabilities or mobility challenges, the MTA offers Access-A-Ride (AAR) Paratransit Service to eligible individuals in all five boroughs.