Jane Wood
Tenant organizer
By Sue Davis
New York
Jane Wood, who died in March at the age of 96,
was a community organizer feared by landlords but loved by
tenants. A tiny wisp of a woman with bright blue eyes and a
huge heart, Wood could be heard chanting the loudest on picket
lines. She was equally outspoken at Rent Guidelines Board and
Community Board meetings. She is credited with helping to
prevent the eviction of hundreds, if not thousands, of tenants
as her Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan became gentrified
during the 1980s and 1990s.
Born to a wealthy family in St. Louis and destined to be a
debutante, Wood rejected all that. Instead, she moved to New
York City in the 1930s at the height of the Great Depression,
got a job in an auto parts plant, and was fired for union
organizing. She devoted her life to helping working and
oppressed people. A long-time socialist, she could be found at
anti-war rallies, anti-racist meetings and other progressive
events.
Wood founded the Chelsea Coalition on Housing in the 1950s,
when she initiated the first of many campaigns. She led
demonstrations opposing construction of the Penn South housing
cooperatives until an agreement was reached ensuring that
low-income workers who lost their homes when the development
was built were given priority in the new housing.
One of many battles that Wood led during the 1980s was
trying to stop Barney's, an expensive men's clothing store then
at 17th Street and 7th Avenue, from expanding into adjacent
housing and evicting tenants. Though the company did buy
several brownstones, the coalition saved at least five
buildings and made sure Barney's paid generous stipends to
those who were forced to relocate.
Wood's husband, Robert, opened a business importing cigars
in the 1950s, so she was a frequent visitor to Cuba. But she
didn't let the U.S. blockade stop her after the 1959
revolution. In fact, she often took medical supplies and other
essentials with her to show support for Fidel Castro and the
socialist revolution. Her knowledge of Spanish helped Wood
reach out to many in the neighborhood.
A long-time subscriber to Workers World, she attended many
public meetings, such as the 150th anniversary of The Communist
Manifesto, sponsored by the party.
A memorial to commemorate her life on her birthday, June 5,
is tentatively scheduled for the Hudson Guild.
Reprinted from the April 15, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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