Carol Greitzer (born January 3, 1925) is an American politician who served in the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

from 1969 to 1991 and was the first president of

NARAL Pro-Choice America Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...

Personal life and education

Carol Greitzer was born on January 3, 1925, in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. She grew up in the north Bronx, and credits her love of New York City to her native New Yorker father, Harry Hutter, who enjoyed learning about the history of the city and often took her sightseeing. Greitzer attended

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

and then went on to receive a master's in English Literature from

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

. Greitzer later moved to New York's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

neighborhood with her first husband, Herman Greitzer. They divorced and she later married lawyer Joshua S. Vogel in November 1990. She still resides in Greenwich Village today.

Political career

Greitzer claims that her move to Greenwich Village played a large role in her becoming politically active. She joined the Greenwich Village Association, and after assisting with a campaign for

Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...

, became a member of the Village Independent Democrats in 1956. In 1960, she ran for president of the Village Independent Democrats against Ed Koch and won. In 1961, Greitzer decided to run for district leader, which at the time was separated into two roles, district leader male and district leader female.

Preservation

Greitzer became increasingly involved with preservation and community organizing. One of her first major successes was saving the Jefferson Market Courthouse. Greitzer worked alongside Philip Wittenberg and

Margot Gayle Margot McCoy Gayle (Born Sarah Margaret McCoy May 14, 1908 – September 28, 2008) was an American historic preservationist, activist, and writer. She led the effort to designate the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District, which preserved Victoria ...

to organize local leaders and children from the community to campaign for the courthouse to be turned into a library. Their campaign was successful, and the building was spared from demolition and still stands today as the

Jefferson Market Library The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Gree ...

. Greitzer was also heavily involved in a plan to remove car and bus traffic from

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

. In 1963 she worked with Shirley Hayes and

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

to complete the plan, arguing that it would provide better outdoor space for children in the community as well as cut down on air pollution. Their efforts worked, and she joined Koch to symbolically push the final bus out of Washington Square Park.

New York City Council

When Ed Koch left his

position in 1969 to run for Congress, Greitzer decided to run for the newly vacant Council seat. Greitzer won and was a New York City Councilwoman, representing Greenwich Village and other downtown areas. Greitzer served as a Councilwoman for 22 years, beginning with her win in 1969 and ending in 1991 when she lost her Council seat to Republican Charles Millard. Following the nearby

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...

that had occurred months earlier, Greitzer met twice with members of the

Gay Activists Alliance The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was founded in New York City on December 21, 1969, almost six months after the Stonewall riots, by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). In contrast to the Liberation Front, the Activists Alliance ...

in May 1970.

Feminist activism

NARAL

Greitzer's activism continued throughout her time on the Council, and she became increasingly involved with feminist issues. Greitzer's became active in New York's pro-choice movement, and began working with

NARAL Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose rest ...

, which at the time stood for National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. Greitzer worked closely with politician

Percy Sutton Percy Ellis Sutton (November 24, 1920 – December 26, 2009) was an American political and business leader. An activist in the Civil Rights Movement and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X. He was ...

, a pro-choice advocate, to push for pro-choice legislation in New York state. NARAL's board of directors voted Greitzer president of the organization on September 27, 1969. As president, she worked alongside other feminist activists including

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional dist ...

, Lana Clark Phelan, Lee Gidding, and

Lucinda Cisler Lucinda Cisler (born October 30, 1938) is an American abortion rights activist, Second Wave feminist, and member of the New York-based radical feminist group the Redstockings. Her writings on unnecessary obstructions to medical abortion procedures ...

. In 1972, Greitzer attended the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

as a representative for

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

. At the convention, Greitzer worked with other feminists to argue that women and their reproductive rights needed to be a prominent issue for the Democratic party.

First Women's bank

In addition to her activist work, Greitzer helped found the New York First Women's Bank. In 1973, Greitzer worked with Evelyn Lehman, Jane Trahey, Eileen Preiss, Sarah Kovner, Carol Opton,

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan (; February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book '' The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the s ...

Sheldon Goldstein Sheldon Goldstein (born October 24, 1947, in Augusta, Georgia) is an American theoretical physicist. He introduced the term " Bohmian mechanics". Biography Goldstein graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in 1969, a B.S. in 1971, and a Ph. ...

, and Philip Sills to establish the bank and provide funds. The bank inspired groups in cities all over the country to open up their own women's banks, providing financial guidance, seminars, and employment to women. In 1989, the First Women's Bank changed its name to the First New York Bank for Business, claiming that over time, there was less of a need for gender-specific banking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greitzer, Carol 1925 births 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Politicians from Manhattan American abortion-rights activists American women centenarians New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats Women New York City Council members