Frances Axler Goldin (June 22, 1924- May 16, 2020) was a housing rights activist and literary agent in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She was a founding member of the Metropolitan Council on Housing and the

Cooper Square Committee Cooper Square Committee is a nonprofit organization based in New York City that has been actively involved in advocating for affordable housing, tenant rights, and urban planning since its establishment in 1959. The committee was formed in respon ...

. Beginning in 1959, she led a successful campaign to defeat an urban renewal plan of

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

, which would have replaced historic, affordable housing with a freeway on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

. For decades, Goldin was associated with the Lower East Side, where she was a neighborhood preservationist and community figure. The 175 Essex Building of Essex Crossing is named in her honor, and she was profiled in the documentary ''It Took 50 Years''.

Early life

Frances Goldin was born on June 22, 1924, and she grew up in Springfield Gardens,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. Her parents were

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrants from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Her father, Michael Axler, was a toolmaker and

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Frances described him as a "freethinker" and "very much a union man." Her mother, Sophie (Saslowsky) Axler, was a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

and former

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable d ...

who had been fired due to her union activity. Frances had a difficult youth; she described her childhood as "miserable." Her neighborhood was almost entirely Christian. She experienced

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, and bricks flew at her family's window when they lit candles on Friday night for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

on at least two occasions. She also experienced class discrimination as a child. Many of the neighborhood families were wealthier, and neighborhood fathers often worked in business capacities. As she later explained, "I hated where we lived... We were one of nine Jewish families. The other eight Jewish families were shopkeepers. My father was a worker. So we were shunned by the non-Jews and shunned by the Jews, because my father worked with his hands." As a teen, Goldin attended Andrew Jackson High School, where she was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

. Her parents expected her to become a traditional Jewish wife. Her mother wanted her to go to secretarial school rather than college. During this time, Goldin met

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

while working at the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

, and "they quickly converted me." When Goldin was 19 years old, she joined the Communist Party. She enrolled in the Jefferson School of Social Science, an adult education school that was founded and managed by the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

. At Jefferson, Goldin studied the history of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

and

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and she read

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. In 1944, when Frances was 20 years old, she married Morris Goldin. The couple had met through the Communist Party. Morris was also a party member, and he was a leader of the Government Workers’ Union. The couple moved to the Lower East Side of

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 ...

, where they lived in a one-bedroom apartment in the fourth floor of a building. On the Lower East Side, she found "

nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

." She explained, "It was amazing to see people of different nationalities, colors, opinions, living together in harmony. And what bound them was poverty."

Early activism

Goldin first became involved with housing rights activism when she visited the Lower East Side Tenement and Consumer Council. At the time, she wanted to confirm that she was being charged the correct rent ($65 per month) by her landlord. After confirming that this was the case, "...they said, 'You seem intelligent, would you like to come work in the tenant council and help us out?' I said sure, and I’ve worked with the tenant council ever since. I never left," as she explained in an interview. In some of her early work, Frances helped translate and interpret for

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

speakers at the tenant clinic. She also met with local American Labor Party organizers. In 1950, when she was 27 years old, Goldin ran for the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

, as part of the American Labor Party. The ticket also included W.E.B. DuBois. Due to these political activities, the Goldins were

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

and under surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This resulted in her husband losing his job, and Frances became the sole income earner in the family. She supported the family by working as a

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

Cooper Square activism

In 1959, she led an effort to oppose a Robert Moses plan to bulldoze twelve blocks of the Lower East Side, which was marketed as "

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

." The plan was to build a proposed Cross-Manhattan Expressway, so that wealthy residents could more easily commute to

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

. Through these efforts, Goldin co-founded Cooper Square Committee, along with Thelma Burdick and Walter Thabit. The Committee advocates for

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

and tenant rights. In 1961, the Committee released Alternate Plan for Cooper Square, which proposed the building of public housing on vacant lots. Through their pressures, a vote was made by the New York City Board of Estimate, which adopted the Alternate Plan for Cooper Square. In total, the work of Goldin and the Committee saved 328 tenement apartments, and an additional 530 income-restricted apartments were later built in Cooper Square. Despite these efforts, the Committee struggled to find wider support in local government until

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...

became mayor. In 1990, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which stated that they would oversee affordable housing development in neighborhood under the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association. Finally, in 2012, the Committee's plan came to fruition, after years of activism, when the city decided to develop a

housing cooperative A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...

, where residents could buy their apartments for as little as $250 per unit. She said, "We organized and demonstrated and finally beat obert Moses50 years later." The story of Cooper Square Committee has inspired other local groups that advocate for the poor in New York City, such as Picture the Homeless. Goldin was also a founding member of the Metropolitan Council for Housing, and she became an advocate for

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

rights.

Seward Park activism

In the 1960s, Goldin was involved in the movement that advocated for former tenants of Seward Park. In total, 1800 residents had been displaced by Seward Park Urban Renewal Area on Delancey Street, with the evacuation process largely completed by 1959. The effort was initially led by Robert Moses, as part of his Slum Clearance Committee, and then continued to be led by other organizations and interests. Goldin advocated for the right of the former tenants to return to their homes. The elite figures of the neighborhood represented the interests of the primarily assimilated, middle-class tenants. Meanwhile, the primarily Asian and Latino immigrant tenants represented a newer generation in the neighborhood. In 2018, after fifty years of struggle, a 100-unit low-income senior citizen building was completed in the area, where 50% of the units are allocated for affordable housing. The building was named Frances Goldin Houses in her honor.

Literary agency

Beginning in the 1950s, Goldin began to work in a small literary agency, so she could begin to understand the publishing industry. Eventually, in 1977, Goldin launched Frances Goldin Literary Agency, which focused on left-wing writers. Her clients included Dorothy Allison, Staceyann Chin, Martin Duberman, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Barbara Kingsolver,

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

, Robert Meeropol, Juan Gonzalez, and

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

. She said, "I do not market any material that is sexist, racist, homophobic or gratuitously violent." Many of the authors were included in ''Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA,'' published by Goldin, in 2014. In 2012, Goldin received the Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award from the Publishing Triangle.

Protests

Goldin was a recognizable figure in multiple protest movements and marches. She was a longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights and participated in the

NYC Pride March The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBT culture in New York City, LGBTQ community in New York City#Sexual orientation and gender identity, New York City. The largest pride parade and the List of largest LGBT events, larges ...

for 35 years. She was known to carry a sign that read, "I Adore my Lesbian Daughters KEEP THEM SAFE," and she became a recognizable figure of the parades. As she aged, Goldin continued to protest. In 2011, Goldin was involved in the Occupy Wall Street protests. She was known to carry a sign that said, “I’m 87 and MAD AS HELL." In 2018, when she was 92 years old, she participated in the Women's March in a wheelchair. She raised her fist and chanted, "92 and Comin’ Through!” For many years, Goldin was known for her outspoken personality and distinctive style. In her old age, she had a neon purple streak in her white hair, and she wore a pin that said "TAX THE RICH," which was pinned to a purple sweatshirt.

Personal life

Goldin was married to Morris Goldin, a staff member of the New York State American Labor Party and advisor to Congressman Vito Marcantonio in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

. Frances and Morris divorced in 1971. The couple had two daughters, Sally and Reeni, who are both

lesbians A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homo ...

. They both came out after their first

pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...

in 1970. Every year since then Goldin attended the NYC Pride Parade where she was always seen holding the same banner: "I Adore My Lesbian Daughters- Keep Them Safe."

Death

On May 16, 2020, Goldin died at her home on East 11th Street, where she had lived for nearly 50 years. She had endured years of declining health before her death. She was 95 years old. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called her a "...protester, provocateur and voice for lost causes" in its

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

. '' The Indypendent'' dedicated a full page obituary to her, in which they wrote, "Frances Goldin was relentless, her enthusiasm infectious. And her life shows the value of being a long distance runner." She is survived by her daughter Reeni Goldin and daughter-in-law Marge Burns, daughter Sally Goldin, and her grandson, Morris Goldin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldin, Frances Housing rights activists from New York City American literary agents Activists from Queens, New York 1924 births 2020 deaths American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent