City buildings will shine yellow tonight—here is why

Today through Friday is Falls Prevention Awareness Week, a pretty obscure observance that seeks to educate folks about an important issue: injuries caused by falls.

To mark the 16th annual Falls Prevention Awareness Week, a number of city building will light up yellow tonight at sundown, including City Hall, Bronx Borough Hall, the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building on Centre Street and Staten Island Borough Hall.

“Since day one, our administration has been proud to put policies in place that ensure older New Yorkers can live independently and safely,” said Mayor Eric Adams in an official statement. “Falls Prevention Awareness Week is an opportunity for us to come together as a city and inform our older residents about the ways they can keep themselves safe and prevent themselves from falling, while simultaneously continuing to be a national example of how to be an age-inclusive city.”

In addition to the festival of lights, New Yorkers can expect community organizations around town to host “events providing residents with tips for older adults on how to prevent falls,” reads a press release.

The cause is clearly a noteworthy one: according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 36 million older adults trip each year and three million of them end up in the emergency room to treat an injury related to the fall.