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. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

from 1969 to 1991 and was the first president of

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, 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 restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

Personal life and education

Carol Greitzer was born on January 3, 1925, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. 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. 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. It also admi ...

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

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

. Greitzer later moved to New York's

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

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, 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 Green ...

. Greitzer was also heavily involved in a plan to remove car and bus traffic from Washington Square Park. In 1963 she worked with Shirley Hayes and Ed Koch 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, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...

that had occurred months earlier, Greitzer met twice with members of the Gay Activists AllianceF 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 NARAL Pro-Choice America, 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 restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

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

, 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 1852 ...

as a representative for

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pres ...

. 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 Jane Trahey (November19, 1923April 22, 2000) was an American businesswoman and writer. She is best known as one of the pioneers of advertising during the 1960s. Her awards include the Advertising Woman of the Year award in 1969 from the American ...

, 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 se ...

, Sheldon Goldstein, 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 Living people New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats Women New York City Council members Politicians from the Bronx 21st-century American women