Citizens Committee for New York City

About Us CitizensNYC is one of New York’s oldest microgranting organizations. We’ve spent 50 years funding and supporting everyday New Yorkers working to improve their communities—from block parties to environmental resilience. Learn more about our mission, our history, and the people who make this work possible. OUR HISTORY FOR 50 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO IMPROVE NEW YORK CITY. In the mid-1970s, New York City teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. Entire city agencies were gutted. School programs were cut, hospital beds disappeared, and public services vanished almost overnight. Trash piled up on sidewalks. Crime rose. Hope sank. But amid the darkness, a new spirit of civic action emerged—one rooted not in government intervention, but in neighborhood leadership. Amid perhaps the worst citywide financial crisis in history, U.S. Senator Jacob Javits and Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Osborn Elliott gave New Yorkers a tangible way to improve their neighborhoods and build community. In 1975, Newsweek Editor-in-Chief Osborn Elliott placed a bold full-page ad in New York Magazine with an urgent, unforgettable headline, calling for “10,000 ‘greedy, heartless’ New Yorkers to work for 5 years. For free.” It wasn’t a joke. It was a challenge. He was joined by United States Senator Jacob Javitz. Senator Javits believed that democracy meant more than voting—it meant participation. As a U.S. Senator, he pushed for civil rights, affordable housing, and public investment. His belief in government as a force for good helped shape the founding values of CitizensNYC. So began nearly five decades of reinventing New York City neighborhoods through resident-led initiatives and engagement.