Women's Center Opens New Fort Totten Headquarters

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — The Center for the Women of New York celebrated the grand opening of its new facility in Fort Totten this weekend, marking a major milestone in the nonprofit's 16-year battle for a home set off by a contentious eviction.

The membership organization's new home, the historic building at 207 Totten Ave., hadn't been used or maintained for 35 years before the Center for the Women of New York took on the challenge of restoring it over a decade ago.

It took $3 million to renovate the building to make it useable, and the nonprofit is still raising money to install an elevator and restore the building's upper floors, according to representatives for the center.

Ann Juliano Jawin, who founded the center in 1987, said the facility will house a women's history and culture museum, space for career trainings and a conference center where center representatives will work with other organizations on tackling such issues as domestic violence and pay equity.

"When completed, this building will be a great asset not only to the women in this metropolitan area but will be accessible to the surrounding community," she said in a statement. "We believe that this historic landmark site will be the only building completely dedicated to full equality for women between the New York metropolitan area and Seneca Falls in upper New York State."

From 1997 to 2003, the Center for the Women of New York occupied a different Fort Totten building, at 401 Weaver St., according to center representatives and the Queens Chronicle.

Then the city's parks department evicted the nonprofit, arguing that the center's mission didn't meet requirements for a parks department-run space, setting off a four-year legal battle that became so heated a judge stepped in to mediate, the Chronicle reported.

In 2007, the agency gave the center its approval to use the century-old building at 207 Totten Ave. for its headquarters, according to the Chronicle. As the building was renovated, the center operated out of a small space in Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.

Funding for the renovations came from Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Assembly Member Edward C. Braunstein, Assembly Member David Weprin, City Council Member Paul Vallone, former Assembly Member Ann-Margaret Carrozza and private donors, according to a press release.

Joining the Center for the Women of NY to celebrate the grand opening of their new center in Fort Totten, #Bayside! This renovated space will serve as a meeting place for local groups and a living museum dedicated to women’s history and culture. Proud to see it become a reality! pic.twitter.com/k9WzIzATqZ
— Paul Vallone (@PaulVallone) December 8, 2019

The opening of the Center for the Women of New York’s Fort Totten Facility is a significant moment for women in Queens and all of us who support gender equality and equity. Congratulations to the founder of CWNY, Ann Jawin, on this momentous accomplishment. pic.twitter.com/cpqcGf9lo7
— David Weprin (@DavidWeprin) December 8, 2019

For more information on the Center for the Women of New York, visit cwny.org.