Age 100 marks new chapter for CB 8’s Irving Ladimer

Certificates and plaques adorn the walls of Irving Ladimer’s apartment. It’s reasonable to expect a little self-aggrandizement after years of community service, but when pressed about the numerous awards that decorate his living room, Mr. Ladimer remains as modest as ever.

 “Some of the organizations must have run out of space, so they brought them over here,” he said.

The awards mark Mr. Ladimer’s work as a civic leader, professor and attorney. On Feb. 9, Community Board (CB) 8 honored him for his latest achievement: turning 100 years old. CB 8 marked the occasion at the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale, where Mr. Ladimer is the president emeritus of the Men’s Club.

Since moving to the neighborhood over 60 years ago, Mr. Ladimer has extended his helping hand to the community in a variety of ways. On CB 8, he has chaired both the Aging and Law, Rules and Ethics committees.

More recently, he has sought to involve the elderly in government.

“Going forward I want to encourage activity, energy and effort,” he said. “I want to energize the senior citizen community in taking a role in government.”

There are many things on Mr. Ladimer’s mind these days, but retirement is not one of them. While many of his family, friends and colleagues have wondered why he has not settled down more, Mr. Ladimer is transparent when it comes to why he cannot stop working.

“I have a compulsive interest to write,” he explained.

He is currently acting on that interest by writing a book called “The Ethical Community.”

 “The first principle of an ethical community is truth,” said Mr. Ladimer. “The second principle is sharing.”

“The Ethical Community” is not Mr. Ladimer’s only idea, but for him, ideas are only as good as the follow-through.

“I have ideas. A lot of people like me have ideas, but the question, is do we follow up?” he remarked. “That’s what I’m going to be doing for the rest of my life, following up on my ideas.”

While Riverdale has changed since Mr. Ladimer’s arrival, his worldview has remained the same.

“Tikkun olam,” he said, using the Hebrew phrase meaning “repair of the world.” “You leave the world a better place than you found it.”