Jeanette Bigelson danced her way into her 104th birthday. She spent the day surrounded by friends and family at the JASA senior center in Coney Island.
“Needless to say, I’m the only one of my family that has lived this long. But I guess God is not ready for me. So I’m here!” Bigelson said.
Bigelson was born in Manhattan where she shared a fourth floor walk-up with her seven-person family. She was married at 20 and moved just three blocks down from where she grew up. She then moved to Coney Island in 1964 with her family, and is now one of the oldest living residents.
Bigelson shared some advice that she wished she had gotten earlier in life.
“Don’t do stupid things. You might be young in age, but age is only a number. Think with your brain. Think with your heart. Think before you do anything that you might be sorry you did. That’s the only advice I could give,” she said.