New Brooklyn political club named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg picks up steam

Centered on grass roots action, it attracts local leadership core

June 10, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Sabrina Rezzy, president of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club. Photo by Hieu Pham

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There’s a new Democratic political club in Brooklyn geared towards the civically engaged, and it bears the name of Brooklyn’s late feminist icon, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The club, which was born in Brooklyn Heights but serves Kings County, kicked off during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when residents were getting slammed by the crisis, coupled with a decrease in city funding.

“When the sanitation budget was cut, our parks, playgrounds and green spaces became littered with garbage. I saw the community taking matters into their own hands,” said Sabrina Lucia Rezzy, president of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club.

“I helped to organize a community cleanup at the Cumberland/Gotham Health site, and we gathered 10,000 gallons of trash at the only public COVID testing center serving much of downtown Brooklyn and its surrounding neighborhoods. We also had a planting and cleanup day with the Cadman Park Conservancy for Earth Day,” she said/

Capitalizing on that momentum, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club had a soft launch in February with 15 founding members.

Justice Ginsburg passed a few months before the club got started. Rezzy says, “All of us were devastated when RBG passed away. We wanted to do something that honored her legacy and carried the ideals she stood for into the future, right here in the place she was born and raised, and the club grew out of that.”

Mimi Ginsburg, granddaughter of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said, “It is exciting to see my grandmother’s legacy move future generations of activists around the nation who want to further the ideals she stood for. She famously said that there will be enough women on the Supreme Court when there are nine. The sentiment of this quote is very important and that is why I am happy to support the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club, which promotes women’s participation in politics and civic engagement.”

Members of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club at Cadman Plaza Park for Earth Day.

“Democracy is a work in progress, and so Justice Ginsburg’s work needs to be continued,” Ella Frederick, a teacher and advocate in Flatbush who serves as the club’s corresponding secretary, said. “Through the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club, we will do everything we can to carry that work forward and elect strong, feminist leaders.”

Doreen Gallo, a community activist, said, “As an advocate for our parks, green spaces, and reopening the Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza Park, I am happy to have the support of the RBG club. Our parks and green spaces need to be revitalized, and I’m happy to welcome a political club to the neighborhood that recognizes quality-of-life issues are a gateway to a strong, engaged, community.”

“My first foray into public service was as president of the Cadman Park Conservancy and Board President of Cadman Towers, a Mitchell-Lama complex,” Toba Potosky, candidate for Council in the 33rd Council District, said. “Through those experiences, I became interested in serving the community in an even more meaningful way. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club takes civic engagement, which is the foundation of our democracy, as seriously as I do. I am proud to belong to such an energizing club.”

Melissa Prober, co-founder of the DUMBO Action Committee, said, “The launch of the new club is very exciting for residents of Brooklyn who are looking to build coalitions of civically active friends and neighbors. This is a great way to build community around issues that most impact the people who live here. People see our club as a meeting place and a home for pragmatic voices.”

Carley Roney, a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur and advocate, said “Women are often the most engaged members of the community, but do not receive appropriate recognition for their efforts. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club empowers women to pursue their dreams while providing a space for students, working professionals and parents to unite and discuss our shared Democratic values through community involvement.”

“As a woman running for office to represent the 33rd Council District — which has never had female representation — I am proud to belong to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club. Ginsburg was a relentless champion for gender equity. Thanks to her, we have many more freedoms today. I want to carry that legacy forward by ensuring New Yorkers have access to affordable child care, equal pay and get real representation, where it matters,” said April Somboun.

“A political club that focuses on the people is what Brooklyn needs, and that’s what we’ve got in the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club,” said Notoya Steadman, mother of two, entrepreneur and community activist. “I am proud to volunteer with such a great group of like-minded friends and neighbors, to promote the legacy of Justice Ginsburg and embody her words ‘Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.’”

“I want my young daughter, who has accompanied me to all the club events, to grow up with the values Justice Ginsburg lived by, and that the club promotes,” said Vladimir Sterlin, treasurer. “I want her to know that the sky is the limit here in Brooklyn, and beyond.”