Politics
A Toast to a Night When 2 Women Made History
In 1973, the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue would not serve unaccompanied women. A legal challenge overturned that ban.
Good morning. It’s Thursday. Today we’ll find out why two women who sued the Pierre Hotel in 1973 will be honored guests there tonight. We’ll also get details on a bill to regulate hotels that the City Council approved.
Credit…Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
One evening in September 1973, two lawyers in their 20s were walking uptown from the legal publishing house where they worked. One of them, Lisa Cohen, said, “Let’s go have a drink at the Pierre.”
They walked into the lobby, entering one of Manhattan’s swankiest hotels. They found places at the bar. They talked for a while.
Eventually, the other lawyer, Leslie Kaye, said something about how they were being ignored. One of them got the bartender’s attention and asked for two glasses of white wine. Lawyers can be disputatious, even when they have been friends for more than 50 years, so it’s probably no surprise that they disagree on which one did that.
But they agree on the bartender’s response: “No.”
Kaye asked if he wanted them to move to a table. Again the answer was no.
