Elinor C. Guggenheimer
New York Women’s Agenda (NYWA) deeply mourns the passing of our beloved founder, Elinor C. Guggenheimer on Monday, September 29, 2008. Established in 1992, NYWA continues to follow Elly’s precept to support the diversity and interests of New York women through collaboration, advocacy and education.
The following is a statement from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg regarding
Elly’s death :
“Elly Guggenheimer devoted herself to others. For nearly half a century, she worked to improve the lives of women, children, seniors and all New Yorkers. She became the first woman to serve on the New York City Planning Commission in 1961 and later served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. In 1973, she founded the New York Women's Forum, which she built first into a national and then international organization. And in 1992, she founded the New York Women's Agenda. More than what she did, though, Elly will be remembered for how she did it – always with extraordinary grace, intelligence and passion. She committed herself to public service in the truest and noblest sense, and she will be missed.”
As a mark of respect for the memory of the Honorable Elinor Guggenheimer, all flags shall be lowered to half-staff from today until the final day of interment. This includes all flags, the American flag, the New York State and City flags, and the POW-MIA flag on all City buildings as well as stationary flagstaffs throughout the five boroughs.
The family will receive friends at Frank E. Campbell on Wednesday and Thursday 5:00-7:00 pm. Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 3, at 10:00 a.m. at Temple Emanu-El, Fifth Avenue at 65th Street.
Elinor C. Guggenheimer
Elinor Guggenheimer is a living example of how much one individual with an unrelenting passion for social justice and concern for others can accomplish.
One of New York City's most eminent civic leaders, she has been an activist for more than half a century, working to improve conditions especially for women, children, and the elderly. From her early years at the Educational Alliance, where she worked with teenage girls, to the founding of the Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City in 1979 and the founding of New York Women's Agenda in 1992, Ms. Guggenheimer has energized others to push aside barriers that stood in the way of people achieving their highest potential.
Ms. Guggenheimer, an urban planner, became the first woman on the New York City Planning Commission in 1961. In the 1970s, she served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. Her vision of women's and families' needs inspired her to found the Day Care Council of New York in 1948, and the Day Care and Child Development Council in 1958. She is also the founder of the Child Care Action Campaign.
Her activism in women's causes moved her to found the New York Women's Forum in 1973, the National Women's Forum in 1981, the International Women's Forum in 1983, and the New York Women's Agenda in 1992.
Many of the organizations she gave birth to have grown and prospered far beyond her dreams. For example, CSPS has become the voice for seniors ' the leader of a huge family of senior centers serving more than 300,000 older New Yorkers.
The New York Women's Agenda has grown from a small coalition of organizations formed to serve women into a proud body of nearly 100 organizations that advocate for women and their families across a broad range of areas. The organization has improved health care for women and their children and worked with local hospitals to provide better services for victims of domestic violence. NYWA also has stimulated growth and development of women-owned businesses, and spearheaded better services for the aging.
As she herself approached the age of 90, Ms. Guggenheimer sought to change the national image of the elderly to reflect the productivity and value of older adults.
She has been showered with numerous honors, such as the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1997 and the Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Award. Ladies Home Journal named her one of the 100 Most Important Women in the United States. Crain's New York Business Magazine named her in 1996 One of the Most Powerful Women in New York.
She holds honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and other institutions.
In 1932, she married Randolph Guggenheimer, who died in 1999. She has two sons, three grandchildren and six great grandchildren
