Ninety-seven-year-old Grace Faison’s family has resided in Brooklyn Heights for generations. She is a graduate of Packer Collegiate and a fixture at Plymouth Church. Throughout her life has held “soft positions of power” at Plymouth, non-profits, and schools in the neighborhood.
When her children were small, her husband received an inheritance. The Faison family moved from a “lovely apartment with a leaky roof ” on Willow Street to a classic 12 in a high-end co-op. Once an empty-nester, Faison became a prominent Real Estate Broker. “I didn’t get on your list, you had to get on my list. You had to be somebody I knew the board would approve.” Grace is not one to hold back her opinions, apparently.
But lest you think Faison was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. At the Heights Casino, over her signature lunch of Ceasar salad and french fries, Faison tells Eliza Gra of NY Magazine how she went from widowed mother of one to Doyenne of Brooklyn Heights. And explains why she has only recently begun to tell the tale of how she quietly made her home a safe haven for women seeking abortions in the late 1960s. “Church ladies get sh*t done!”
She was prompted to speak out after Justice Alito’s draft opinion of the then-pending Roe v. Wade case was leaked. “I feel very angry at the way men treat women and don’t value them. It’s getting worse…This is the worst thing outside of war that they are doing. They are diminishing the value of women.” Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, Faison’s sharing her story now could serve as a road map for others. It is well worth the read for all the nuances she provides. So shines a good deed in a weary world.
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