Sally Goodgold Papers, 1940-2011, bulk 1970-2011
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1632
- Bib ID:
- 9614545 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Goodgold, Sally
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 9 linear feet (9 record cartons)
- Language(s):
- English .
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
-
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Scope and Content
The Sally Goodgold Papers document citizen action and impact on several significant events in New York City development in the mid to late 20th century. The papers cover urban development, land use, environmental impact, law enforcement, women in politics, and New York history, particularly the Upper West Side. The collection consists of organizational records and reports, meeting notes and minutes, audio and videotapes, correspondence, speech drafts, personal notebooks, and commendations from notable officials such as President Bill Clinton, New York Governor Hugh Carey, Congressman Charles Rangel, Mayor Ed Koch, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and others.
Goodgold kept copies of reports from many of the City Planning Commission meetings she attended. These have been discarded, but are accessible at the Department of City Planning, City of New York website. Goodgold's reports were from 1978-2004.
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Series I: Organizations, 1963-2011
Series I consists of Goodgold's records from her service on numerous New York City citizen organizations. The City Club monitored city government actions on zoning, landmarks, financing, housing and transportation. It held luncheon meetings with prominent speakers, and each year sponsored a "Distinguished New Yorker" Award at a gala dinner. It also published a newsletter, The Gadfly. In describing her work at the City Club, Goodgold said, "I try to fill the potholes in government." Goodgold was chairperson of Community Board 7/Manhattan, as well as head of the transportation and steering committees. She was instrumental in securing Federal funds in the 1970s to repair the West Side Highway between 72nd and 82nd Streets. As a member of the Police Foundation's scholarship committee, she helped then-Capt. Ray Kelly to obtain a grant to attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
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Series II: Personal Papers, 1940-2010
Series II consists of Goodgold's personal papers, scrapbooks, family photos, and several spiral bound notebooks filled with names and contact information of various individuals and groups in New York City. Also included are personal correspondence files, Goodgold's curriculum vitae, curriculum vitae sent to Goodgold, speech drafts, and honors.
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Series III: Audio and Videotapes, 1985-2004
Series III consists of 8-track cassette tapes, VHS videotapes, and one broadcast-quality videotape. Cassette tapes record Goodgold's appearance in the 1990s on WNYC's radio show, "NY&Co," on which she discussed local issues and events. Videotapes include Queens College productions on politics and planning, City Club of New York and the Women's City Club events, and a Manhattan Cable TV production, "The People's Podium."
Arrangement
Materials arranged into 3 Series.
- Series I: Organizations, 1963-2011
- Series II: Personal Papers, 1940-2010
- Series III: Audio and Videotapes, 1985-2004
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Sally Goodgold Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accrual
No additions are expected
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2012.2013.M032: Source of acquisition--[source of acquisition]. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--date.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers processed Jacqueline Rider 10/30/2013.
Finding Aid written Jacqueline Rider October 2013.
Revision Description
2013-11-05 xml document instance created by Jacqueline Rider
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Historical Note
Known as the "Ethel Merman of land use," Sally Gottfried Goodgold was born in 1929 in New York. She grew up in the Plymouth Hotel on West 49th Street, which her father, J. Samuel Gottfried, managed. She received a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University in 1949 and volunteered at Beth Israel Hospital, where she met cardiologist Murray Goodgold, whom she married. They had two children. She was co-founder with urban planner Martin Gallent of G&G Partnerships, a consultancy focused on environmentally conscious development. Beginning in the 1970s, she held a number of positions on Community Board 7/Manhattan. In 1984, she became first woman president of the City Club, a good-government group founded in 1892. A regular attendee at City Planning Commission meetings, she was professor of urban planning at Queens College. She served on the board of the New York City Police Foundation and was a member of the Settlement Housing Fund, Jewish Community Relations Council, Park Avenue Synagogue, Civitas, and Citizens Union. Goodgold was known for her non-confrontational negotiating style, which she called "bagel diplomacy." She would have key players to her apartment on West 79th Street for breakfast to, as she said, "keep them talking for as long as it takes to chew through a whole bagel." To maintain her political independence, she never ran for office. Goodgold received numerous awards, including an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the City University of New York and an Outstanding Citizen Award from New York City. She died August 18, 2011, at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan at age 82. She received a rare honor at her funeral where the casket was draped with New York City's flag.
Sources:
Leon, Masha. "The Unsinkable Sally Goodgold," (New York: The Jewish Daily Forward, September 2011).
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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