Scope and Content Note

The Shirley Hayes Papers (1948-2001) primarily documents the Greenwich Village activism of Shirley Zak Hayes who successfully led the 1950's battle for a car-free Washington Square Park, defeating Robert Moses' plan to carve a four-lane highway through it linking Fifth Avenue with West Broadway.

Hayes was also active in many other community issues. These include renovating Washington Square Park after it was closed to traffic, getting more playgrounds in the Greenwich Village area, opposing the NYU Bobst Library, and fighting large apartment buildings on Washington Square Park. Hayes was a dedicated record keeper, so the collection contains records of many of the organizations that she was involved with including the Washington Square Park Committee.

Her community involvement also included participating in political campaigns. Hayes was active in several campaigns of John Lindsay, who was a congressman and mayor of New York City. The political records she kept also pertain to other local politicians.

She also kept records pertaining to her time at WNYC and her involvement in the American Federation of Television and Radio Arts. Also included in this collection are some personal materials of Hayes.

The collection contains a wide variety of materials including correspondence, reports, press releases, statements and speeches, petitions, photographs, maps, flyers, posters, receipts and other financial documents, clippings, audio and videotape, political campaign materials, handwritten notes and drafts, publications, and personal ephemera.