“We are all mourning the loss of Ruth Ohman, who was a vibrant part of the Battery Park City Community, for the seniors, and as part of the everyday fabric of life here, as well,” said Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) president Shari Hyman at the start of the Authority’s Open Community Meeting, on November 9. “In order to honor her memory, there will be a memorial service here on Friday, November 18. It is open for people to come and share their memories and thoughts about Ruth, and we are happy to make the facility available for this.”
Ms. Ohman, who died on October 20, will be remembered, celebrated, and honored at the service. A resident of Battery Park City for decades, she was a community leader and activist who touched countless lives with her generosity of spirit.
Among her many other causes, Ms. Ohman was a leader among elderly residents of Battery Park City, organizing this previously voiceless constituency into a tightly knit group that offered recreational and social actives, while also lobbying for public amenities, facilities, and programs to benefit seniors. (Among Ms. Ohman’s final acts of service was a months-long project to persuade Asphalt Green to begin offering free fitness classes for Battery Park City residents, aged 60 and over. She was successful, and this program launched in September.)
While serving on Community Board 1 (CB1), Ms. Ohman partnered with fellow Gateway Plaza resident Tom Goodkind. “When I established a Seniors and Housing Committee under then-CB1 chair Julie Menin,” Mr. Goodkind recalls, “I made Ruth my co-chair. It was Ruth who pushed for the immensely popular Seniors Guide, printed by a local union with thousands of copies in two editions over five years.”
“She was a great co-chair,” Mr. Goodkind continues, “and also a friend, who always encouraged my daughter, Olivia, to pursue the theater.” He counts among his fondest memories of Ms. Ohman that, “we always walked home from board meetings together.”
Ms. Ohman continued advocating for seniors until mid-October, when the cancer that would eventually take her life became debilitating. At that point, she checked into Mount Sinai Hospital. Mr. Goodkind remembers, “when I went to visit her in the hospital, I told her that the next edition of the Seniors Guide would be called the ‘Ohman Senior Guide.’ She then kissed my hand and bade me farewell.”
Ms. Ohman, who would have been 86 years old on November 11, also helped to organize residents in Battery Park City’s largest residential complex, Gateway Plaza. Glenn Paskin, president of the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association, says that, “Ruth was a longtime and highly cherished member of our executive board. For years, she worked diligently on issues related to Gateway Plaza window replacement, rent stabilization renewal, energy conservation, security, maintenance, and much more. She always attended our meetings and events with her down-to-earth perspective, providing wisdom and an expansive knowledge of the neighborhood. She had such warmth and integrity. We will sorely miss her.”
A week before she died, Ms. Ohman left Mount Sinai to spend her final days with her brother’s family in Virginia. A few days after she left New York for the last time, friends received a note from Ms. Ohman’s sister-in-law, Jaime Ryskind, which said, “Ruth passed away peacefully in her sleep early this morning. She had been in a near coma for about a day, but was resting quietly. She had a lovely, relaxed expression on her face and even a hint of a smile and no signs at all of distress, which makes us all very happy.”
Tomorrow’s memorial service will be held at Six River Terrace (opposite the Irish Hunger Memorial and next to Le Pain Quotidien restaurant), from 12:15 through 2:15 pm. Everyone who feels their life was made better by Ms. Ohman’s efforts, or just by knowing her, is invited to attend. Separately, anyone wishing to making a contribution in Ms. Ohman’s memory is asked by her family consider donating a local hospice care organization of their own choosing.