The Carol Bellamy Papers consist chiefly of her public papers (speeches, testimony, schedules, press releases) and clippings, feature articles, and background information used in developing and supporting the positions reflected in her speeches and public statements. Also included are correspondence and statements on issues of concern to the City Council President's Office, and materials pertaining to city finances, mass transit, and women's issues.

Ms. Bellamy's speeches concern public education, city transportation, city finances, health care, women's issues, minority issues, child care availability and facilities, budgets, crime, economic development, environmental issues, concerns of the Jewish community, housing, human rights, anti-nuclear concerns, child welfare, employment, federal aid, and immigration issues.

Ms. Bellamy was invited to give her speeches to organizations such as colleges, high schools, the Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations, conferences, Bar Associations, senior citizens' groups, Democratic National Party Conference panels, the Democratic National Convention, and various women's organizations.

The bulk of Ms. Bellamy's speeches pertain to social and quality-of-life issues such as legislation impacting women, women's employment and job-training, maternity leave, flextime, and female entrepreneurship. The escalating teen pregnancy rate and subsequent high school dropout rate were also of great concern. To address these issues, Ms. Bellamy successfully fought for city funding for experimental, school-based infant care centers in high schools that would allow young mothers to continue their secondary education. She succeeded in targeting $250,000 for two pilot day-care programs at city high schools, and she budgeted additional aid to city-run family planning clinics. She supported sex education and vocational and career counseling, and she advocated support for the continuation of availability of legal abortion. She proposed a tax incentive to encourage businesses to establish on-site day-care facilities. To foster corporate involvement, Ms. Bellamy collaborated with the NYC Department of Health to simplify and streamline licensing procedures for day-care centers and to eliminate antiquated and outmoded requirements.

Ms. Bellamy addressed the issue of better health care for the elderly, such as home health services for homebound seniors, adult day-care services, and foster care for adults. Ms. Bellamy's priorities also included services for the mentally ill; to this end, she lobbied for the reallocation of underutilized funds to provide for a full range of community services for the chronically mentally ill - both the homeless and those housed in SRO hotels. As a result of Ms. Bellamy's efforts, there are now state-funded mental health services available at city shelters and SRO hotels.

Of particular interest are the texts of speeches that were never publicly delivered; the reasons these speeches were not given are unclear. These include reports and surveys from 1978 to 1984, such as "Real Estate Speculation in the South Bronx: a case study of Thomas Cuevas and affiliates" (1978) concerning profits from redevelopment, and "Hill Burton Uncompensated Care"(1980), a state-wide compliance survey on provision of low-cost or free services.

In addition there are background papers such as "City Council President's Adoption Research Project"(1980), a working paper on "Adolescent Pregnancy and Prevention" (1980), and a paper entitled "Thoughts on a Progressive Agenda for the 1980's."

The speeches are the most substantial and insightful part of the collection, as they demonstrate Ms. Bellamy's priorities and concerns during the course of her administration. The archive will be of interest to those researching public administration, municipal politics, social work, and women's history.