About Us

Our History

From Brooklyn NOW to Brooklyn-Queens NOW – the Highlights:

Since it was founded in 1972, the Brooklyn Chapter (which later became the Brooklyn-Queens chapter) of NOW has:

Worked in the coalition that saved the Brooklyn College Women’s Center from extinction. The Center is operating and has a full-time director.
Challenged employment bias in NY Times ads, state government and the private sector.
Fought for better treatment of rape survivors by hospitals and police.
Backed equal funding of school programs for girls and boys under Title IX.
Opposed union busting and helped win non-traditional union jobs for women.
Organized consciousness raising groups.
Picketed a local Mitsubishi dealership to protest sexual harassment of female employees.
Created the Shirley U. Graber Scholarship Fund for students majoring in women’s studies, to honor the memory of a former chapter president.
Won statewide legislation criminalizing female genital mutilation, which was occurring in Brooklyn.
Participated in the successful campaign for the Equal Benefits Law. Testified at City Council hearings, which resulted in increased availability of EC in NYC.

Today We:

Defend women’s health clinics from anti-choice forces and provide clinic escorts for women seeking abortions, together with other pro-choice groups
Send speakers to high schools, college campuses and senior centers
Lobby elected officials, here and in Albany, on behalf of women’s rights, such as requiring over-the-counter status for Emergency Contraception
Monitor the courts’ treatment of women in matrimonial, criminal and mental-health cases
We established our Political Action Committee in 2001 to evaluate and educate candidates seeking our endorsements
Fight the right-wing backlash against women’s progress
Research and publicize the records of candidates for school boards and for city, state and federal offices

Brooklyn-Queens NOW: Goals for the Future

End poverty among women and children, who are still the majority of homeless people and welfare recipients.
Stop mandatory mediation, which is replacing our right to sue in divorce and in the workplace.
Prevent hospital mergers from threatening family planning and denying care for rape survivors.
Stop the 30 year war against Roe v. Wade.
Make high-quality childcare affordable and available.
Educate our schools to teach respect for nontraditional families.
Change medical and workplace research, which still assumes men are the norm.
Educate ourselves and the public about Human Trafficking in our area, support Anti-Trafficking legislation and take action to defeat all human enslavement.
NOW Core Issues

How YOU can make a difference!!!

When you join Brooklyn-Queens NOW, you raise the volume of our voices.
You bring YOUR issues to a larger audience.
You act on YOUR convictions.
You make Brooklyn, Queens and the larger society, better for the next generation.

Join Brooklyn-Queens NOW

NEED HELP?

NOW is a political action organization and cannot provide services.
If you do need help, check our Resources page and the Feminist.com Resources page.