Three N.Y. Businessmen’s Clubs Ordered to Open Doors to Women

The state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that three of New York City’s staid men’s clubs must open their membership rolls to women, upholding a city law that bans discrimination.

The decision ended a three-year battle in which the city’s Human Rights Commission brought charges against three businessmen’s clubs that have fought the admission of women into their wood-paneled studies and chandelier-bedecked dining rooms.

“We’ve won an important battle,” said Leonard J. Koerner, a lawyer for the city’s Corporation Counsel.

“We’ve argued for years that these clubs are about establishing business contacts and it’s unfair to exclude women. Finally the court agreed.”

Weighs Conflicting Rights

Angelo T. Cometa, a lawyer representing the clubs, said he had just seen the decision and could not immediately comment on it.

The state Court of Appeals, in a unanimous decision written by Chief Judge Sol Wachtler, ruled the clubs were too large and are too entangled in business transactions to be allowed to restrict their membership.

“Although . . . constituent members have a right to free speech and to association, they lack the right to practice invidious discrimination against women and minorities in the distribution of important business advantages and privileges,” Wachtler wrote.

Not ‘Distinctly Private’

The decision affects the Century, Union League and University clubs in Manhattan, which cater to some of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the city.

It supports the city’s judgment that the clubs, whose memberships reach into the thousands, do not constitute “distinctly private” organizations and must abide by city discrimination guidelines.