The Century Association has apparently had a very rough past few months. The membership of the tony Times Square private club for "authors, artists, and amateurs of letters and the fine arts" has been in a tizzy over whether or not it should continue its mutual association with London's Garrick Club, which only lets women through its doors in the presence of male members. Arguments got so heated over the issue a full-member vote was called. This is a serious issue people!
If you've never heard of it, the Century Association is actually one of the more prestigious clubs in the city (and the country) having boasted members over the years that include Fredrick Law Olmstead, Stanford White, Henry Kissinger, Jackie O, Brooke Astor and a whole slew of writers, journalists and artists you've heard of. Though it used to be a men only club, a 1988 city law forced it to open its doors to women and they now make up a quarter of its membership. If you ever get invited to go check it out, seriously go—it is everything you would expect such a club to be, down to the silver cups with old members names engraved on them that they serve their drinks in.
Anyway, since WWII the Century has had a reciprocity agreement with the Garrick which allowed the two club's members to make use of each others facilities. Except the Garrick still does not admit women, so really the Century's female members were being asked to share their space while not being given, well, reciprocity. Last fall fifty members signed a petition to end the arrangement. And then all hell broke loose.
The club have a strict policy not to talk to the press (first rule of fight club, etc., etc.) but that doesn't mean no talking to the Times, apparently (to be fair, a number of Times employees have been members over the years). Anyway, the debate got so tense in the normally calm club—fans of the Garrick charged the others with "cultural imperialism," while the anti-Garrick side tweaked Orwell quotes to further their agenda—that a full member vote was called in January. More than 1,500 members voted and the anti-Garrick side won by some 300. The reciprocity agreement ends March 1.
And you can now go back to not having a clue what a Century Association is.
