ROSS GRAHAM

GRAHAM--Ross, whose decades of work in the state legislature and as a volunteer on behalf of the West Side of Manhattan is evidenced by the historic character of the Chelsea neighborhood and the success of Hudson River Park, died on January 28, 2021 from health complications after a fall. She was 93 and lived independently in her apartment in Chelsea. After a childhood spent in Williamstown, MA, and West Chester, PA, Ms. Graham attended Tufts University, and worked as a journalist in the Rust Belt of Pennsylvania. She came to New York in the early 1960s inspired by the Reform Democrats and Eleanor Roosevelt and began a political career here that focused on women's rights, human and civil rights, tenant rights and historic preservation. She spent 20 years working in the office of State Senator Manfred Ohrenstein, becoming the first woman to be a major Albany staffer when she assumed the role as the Senator's Chief of Staff in 1975. She often noted that she was at one time the highest paid woman in Albany and one of the first to wear pants on the floor of the Senate Chamber. She also helped organize the New York State Women's Political Caucus and Eleanor's List, which raised funds for women candidates. In her retirement, she was appointed to the Commission for the Restoration of the Capitol and became an influential member of Manhattan's Community Board 4, serving from 1986 to 1997. It was there that she led efforts to protect the low-rise character of Chelsea and became a leading voice for the creation of Hudson River Park. She would be appointed to the Hudson River Park Conservancy in 1996 and three years later was a founder of the Friends of Hudson River Park. In a 1995 profile in this newspaper, she was called a "veteran horse trader," a pragmatist who knew how to cut a deal. "In the often-scruffy world of community activism, the auburn-haired Ms. Graham stands out in her silk blouses and sling-back heels," The Times wrote. "And in the context of Board 4, Ms. Graham is considered a moderate, in part because she believes that negotiating with opponents 'is not necessarily selling out.' But asked if she is a socialist, she pauses a moment and murmurs, 'Close, close.'" timesmachine.nytimes. com.timesmachine/1995/ 04/30/672095.html. Nancy Ross Graham was born on December 19, 1927. The eldest of three children, she was predeceased by her brother, David Scott Graham; survived by her sister, Judith Graham Miller (Grover "Buck"); nephews David Scott Graham, Jr. (Amanda) and Charles Luther Graham (Sherri); nieces Cynthia Graham Mullen and Kelly Graham Hoback; great-nephews Mathew Bryant, Joshua David Graham and David Scott Graham III, "Trey"; great-nieces Amanda Bryant, Shannon Ann Mullen and Olivia Chastain Graham. She is also survived by a legion of friends that she made across all generations, including her extended Shelter Island family and those who consider her their political mother. The family asks that donations in her honor be made to Friends of Hudson River Park.