STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Lucy DePeppo remembers when the Staten Island Zoo was only a construction site.

"I was happy because I always loved animals. And we couldn't wait for it to be built," DePeppo recalled.

When the doors opened in 1936, DePeppo was among some of its first visitors. Now at 98-years-old the Staten Island native is still a regular at the Zoo, and also one of its longest-serving volunteers.

DePeppo has dedicated more than 20 years to zoo visitors and animals.

"It makes you get up, it makes you forget your own problems and then when you get home and you're tired enough, you eat, go back to bed, and then you lay down and you feel so fulfilled that you did something good for the day," DePeppo said.

The great-great grandmother makes the 10-minute walk to and from the zoo twice a week.

DePeppo is trained as a docent and also often works special events.

She loves working with children the most. It’s something she says keeps her feeling young.

"I didn't realize I was this age until I passed 90 years old. I had said to my doctor, 'You know, once in a while I feel so tired.' He turned around and said, 'Well, you're over 90 years old!' So I feel ever since he said that to me, I said you know, I am! I really do not feel 98," DePeppo said.

Not only does DePeppo volunteer at the zoo, she also devotes her spare time to Richmond University Medical Center and Meals on Wheels. She says she won't let anything get in her way to give back, and certainly not her age. 

"I was a volunteer before I even knew the word volunteer. And I always loved to help people - and I'll continue until my dying day," DePeppo said.

So, for sharing her time and spirit with all at the Staten Island Zoo, Lucy DePeppo is our New Yorker of the Week.