Shirley Hayes
Shirley Hayes (June 15, 1912 – July 29, 1981) was a long-time resident of Greenwich Village, where she was active in several community organizations. During the 1950s, Hayes successfully led the battle for a car-free Washington Square Park, defeating New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses's plan for a four-lane highway. She also held positions at WNYC.[1] Hayes's papers are archived by the New-York Historical Society.
In 1952, Moses planned to expand Fifth Avenue through Washington Square Park as part of an urban renewal project south of Washington Square.[2] Hayes was a mother of four who used the park regularly: she and other Greenwich Village mothers felt the expansion would destroy the residential quality of the park and put their children at risk. Hayes began to denounce the project at local community meetings, and called for the park to be closed to all vehicular traffic. She was chairwoman of the Washington Square Park Committee, and active in the Greenwich Village Association, Washington Square Association, and community planning board. Hayes published reports and letters to the editor in the Villager, and gathered the signatures of 4,000 Villagers on petitions against the roadway. Her coalition included influential individuals such as Tammany Hall boss Carmine De Sapio, Village Voice editor Dan Wolf, civic leader Raymond Rubinow, former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, New York University School of Law professor Normal Redlich, local activist Edith Lyons, and urbanists Lewis Mumford, William H. Whyte, Charles Abrams, and Jane Jacobs.
Moses's plan was abandoned in 1959, largely due to Hayes and her coalition's efforts. Community efforts to defeat the plan came to be called the Battle of Washington Square.[3][4][5]An article by the New-York Historical Society stated that due to Hayes's efforts, "Greenwich Village developed a national reputation as a locus of grassroots activism... It also provided a model for other community mobilizations. Above all, the movement reinforced the notion of civic engagement—an idea gaining traction at the dawn of the 1960s."[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Shirley Hayes Papers, 1948-2001 (bulk 1952-1979)". bobcat.library.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- ↑ Papacosma, Kate (February 2008). "Robert Moses and the Modern City: Remaking the Metropolis; Exhibition catalogue". The Public Historian. 30 (1): 146–149. doi:10.1525/tph.2008.30.1.146. ISSN 0272-3433.
- ↑ "Robert Moses & the Battle of Washington Square". The Village Voice. 3 (18). February 26, 1958. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- ↑ "The Battle of Washington Square: 1958". The Village Voice. 4 (10). December 31, 1958. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
- ↑ Fishman, Robert (2007). "Revolt of the urbs: Robert Moses and his critics". In Ballon, Hilary; Jackson, Kenneth T. Robert Moses and the modern city : the transformation of New York (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 978-0-393-73206-1. OCLC 76167277. Search this book on
- ↑ "Shirley Hayes and the Battle of Washington Square Park, 1952–1959". New-York Historical Society: Behind The Scenes. 2016-08-03. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
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