History of Chelsea
If there is one part of Chelsea’s history no one can dispute is the fact that we have mice.
Clement Clarke Moore, as a poet, wrote a tale of a big guy landing on roofs with deer and then sliding down chimneys with gifts, while ‘Not Even A Mouse Stirred.’ As an urban planner, some of those chimneys and roofs that he helped build, are still here today, as is his zoning plan for residences to have front gardens–‘For the Pleasure of the Neighborhood’s Citizens.’
Although he never lived long enough to see his hometown steam-rolled by the shipping industry, Moore would feel comfort to know that so many people have helped retain that noble act of caring about their surrounding neighborhood and it‘s citizens—so much so, that today, his community along the western shore of the Hudson River has become the most diverse, heeding, endearing of it’s roots, and artistic community as any other in the world.
Read a detailed timeline of Chelsea's history.
History of Our Club
Like every group that comes into being, the ‘Chelsea Reform Democratic Club’ can trace its roots to a meeting, where people come together for a common cause. We have read of such meetings in history books; 1776’s backroom meetings that forged a path to liberty, and more recently in Egypt, witnessing citizens coming together on the internet and changing a country, seemingly overnight.
In 1958, four of our club’s forefathers, each disgusted with the self-indulgent ‘Chelsea Horatio Seymour Democratic Club’, came together at the White Horse Tavern and created a new club. It’s initial reform missions were to uphold the values of the neighborhood’s vastly diverse social make-up and have annual elections of not only club leadership but also District Leaders and, most importantly, give support to the Chelsea Community Board (CCC) —a council attempting to democratically solve Chelsea’s many social issues, as anyone who has seen the play or movie, ‘West Side Story,’ can attest to.
In going up against the Chelsea Horatio Seymour Democratic Club, the CRDC even enlisted the help of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Read a detailed timeline of CRDC's history.
CRDC Constitution:
