Marge Burns, Reeni Golden, Council Member Carlina Rivera, and Joyce Ravitz attend the unveiling of ‘Frances Goldin Way’ on Oct.5.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
New York City celebrated a trailblazing housing and social justice advocate last week by co-naming the northeast corner of East 4th Street and Cooper Square “Frances Goldin Way.”
Goldin was remembered at the Oct. 5 ceremony as funny, outspoken, high energy and a great cook. Friends and family called her a “hoot” with an affinity for wearing purple — from her hair down to her underwear.
The charismatic character made her mark in the late 50s, when she successfully fought against Robert Moses’ plan to bulldoze a twelve-stretch block of historic and affordable housing in the Lower East Side to build a cross-Manhattan Expressway.
Goldin was the mother of two lesbian daughters, Reeni and Sally, and a staunch ally of the LGBTQI+ community. She was a fixture at the annual Gay Pride Parade, carrying her trademark sign that read, “I Adore My Lesbian Daughters – Keep Them Safe.”
Reeni recalled that towards the end of her life, her mother, who passed away at 95 on May 16, 2020, said she didn’t want to be forgotten. This month, she got her wish.
“How can she be forgotten? She’s got a street named after her,” Reeni said.
Addressing the crowd, many clad in Goldin’s signature color purple and wearing her buttons, Reeni pointed out that her mother also had a building named after her, the Frances Goldin Senior Apartments at Essex Crossing, built on the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area site. Because of political power-play, the eight-square block of land sat vacant for 50 years after thousands of low-income tenants were displaced in the 1950s and 1960s. Goldin was instrumental in the negotiations to include low- and middle-income housing and give preference to displaced families.
“She would never be forgotten,” Reeni said. “That building is going to outlast all of us.”
Reeni…
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