Long Beach’s Goldie Steinberg Celebrates 112th Birthday Belatedly as the Result of Hurricane Sandy

Goldie Steinberg, a resident at Grandell Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, celebrated her 112^th birthday on January 13. A special birthday party was held at the skilled nursing facility with family, friends, staff and local elected officials.

The party was initially scheduled for October 30, 2012, but was rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy. During the hurricane, Ms. Steinberg and her fellow residents had to be evacuated and Grandell was closed for several weeks.

To make the celebration more special, Grandell joined with Beach Terrace Care Center to host the Winter Bash. The event celebrated the residents of Long Beach who are working tirelessly to recover and rebuild the community and featured rides, raffles, games, refreshments, face painting, live music and arts and crafts.

Ms. Steinberg was born October 30, 1900 in Chisinau (now known as Kishinev) in the region of Moldova (now part of Romania) and one of eight children. It is believed that she is the oldest-living person residing in Long Island and perhaps the oldest-living person of Jewish descent.

When she was three years old, she and her family bore witness to one of the most tragic historical events in eastern European history: theKishinev pogrom. For three days, rioters — with the encouragement of the Tsarist Russian government and some members of the local police force — murdered more than 40 Romanian Jews, injured 600 and destroyed 1,500 homes and businesses.

She came to the United States at the age of 23 and settled into the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, where she worked as a seamstress. Soon after emigrating to the U.S., Ms. Steinberg joined a society comprised of Eastern European immigrants who purchased burial plots in case any one of them died unexpectedly, which was a common practice at the time. It was at the society where she met Philip Steinberg, who later became her husband.

They married in 1932 and moved into a third-floor apartment in Brooklyn. Ms. Steinberg continued to live in the same apartment, even after her husband died in 1967, until 2004, when she came to Grandell Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in order to be closer to her daughter. Despite her age, Ms. Steinberg keeps herself active by helping out fellow residents who may need assistance getting around and crocheting scarves, blankets and shawls for friends and nursing home staff members.

Ms. Steinberg loves to read the newspaper and catch up on the national political scene. Since coming to the United States, she has voted in every single presidential election. She cast her vote during the presidential election in November but has refused to say who she voted for. She also likes to watch Yankees baseball games on TV. She has lived to see the Bronx Bombers win all 27 World Series titles and 40 American League Championship Series titles. She had the good fortune to see the Yankees win their 18^th American League East Divisional title.

Ms. Steinberg attributes her long life to her children and the facility. “My children keep me alive,” she said.

“I also want to thank the staff at Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Care,” said Anne Teicher, Ms. Steinberg’s daughter. “They also do a great job taking care of my mother.”

It is believed that Ms. Steinberg is currently the oldest-living Long Islander. According to the Gerontology Research Group, there are approximately 300-450 super centenarians (those who have attained the age of at least 110 years) living worldwide. She has donated a sample of her DNA, which is being studied at the Albert Einstein Medical College and Boston University School of Medicine to determine what contributes to a super centenarian’s longevity. It is part of the Archon Genomics X Prize competition, in which $10 million will go to a group of researchers who can successfully sequence the genomes of 100 subjects within a 30-day period.

For more information, call (516) 889-1100 or visit www.grandellrehab.com.