When Ruth Elsasser took a leisurely stroll up Weehawken’s Park Avenue during the spring of 1971, she never knew the walk would change her life forever.
“I was a stay-at-home mother at the time, and I decided to take a walk up Park Avenue,” Elsasser said. “I saw a group of protestors with picket signs in front of Town Hall. I didn’t know what it was about. One of the protestors asked me if I wanted to see an oil refinery in Weehawken and I said, ‘Of course not.’ So he said, ‘Well, here, hold this sign.’ I never held a protest sign before.”
The group was protesting the proposed Super Marine Oil Refinery, which was slated to be built on the Weehawken/Hoboken border along the Hudson River waterfront, in the area where the Sheraton Suites Hotel currently stands.
“When I held that sign, it felt like a voice went off,” Elsasser said. “I felt like it was time to take a stand in life. I felt like it was something I had to do. I had to do something that I believed in.”
She’s been a vocal prominent figure in Weehawken ever since. In fact, for the last 30 years, Ruth Elsasser has been more than just a protector of environmental rights and laws. She’s been Weehawken’s version of E.F. Hutton. When she speaks, everyone has to listen – on every side of the political fence.
“Ruth is not partisan at all,” said Sarah Crew, the current president of the Weehawken Environmental Committee that Elsasser helped to form three decades ago. “Whenever she spoke out, it was definitely for the betterment of the community. I think she’s so vital, because without her dedication, the things we have today, like the views from Boulevard East, wouldn’t be there. If not for her dedication and foresightedness, we would have ended up like Edgewater.”
Thursday night, the Weehawken Environmental Committee decided to honor the woman whose tireless efforts have either preserved the beauty of Weehawken or altered the town’s landscape in a positive way for more than 30 years with a surprise dinner at the Spirito Grill.
“I was totally taken by surprise,” said Elsasser, who arrived with her friends Jim and Evelyn Dette, as well as her husband, Max, thinking they were to celebrate the Dettes’ wedding anniversary. “When they opened the door and all those people were there and said, ‘Surprise,’ I said, ‘What for? What did I do?’ “
For starts…
Over the last three decades, it’s been more like what didn’t Elsasser do.
Other than joining the fight to stop the construction of the proposed oil refinery and subsequent oil storage tanks that were slated to be built on the waterfront, Elsasser was instrumental in helping the Weehawken Water Tower to gain historic landmark status and taking the developers of a proposed high-rise luxury complex (called the Tenwood Towers) at the site to court, which the WEC eventually won.
Elsasser was also a driving force in eliminating a planned processed poultry manufacturing and distribution plant from being built where Lincoln Harbor currently stands in the 1980s.
“They wanted to process frozen poultry and ship it to Kuwait,” Elsasser said of the 1982 fight that the WEC also won. “At the time, no one knew where Kuwait was.”
Elsasser also worked diligently, along with friend Marie Alberian, to preserve the view of the Manhattan skyline from Old Glory Park, preventing any development to take place along the Palisades.
“I once read a quote from Frank Lloyd Wright that said, ‘If you foolishly ignore beauty, you’ll soon find yourself without it,’ ” Elsasser said. “I’ve always felt that the waterfront has been Weehawken’s front yard, and it is a beauty to behold and should be preserved.”
In fact, as part of the celebration Thursday night, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner announced that there will be a plaque placed at Old Glory Park in honor of Elsasser and Alberian, forever remembering their quest to keep that view intact.
Elsasser was also presented with an official proclamation from Turner and the Township Council, as well as an oil painting of the view from Old Glory Park by famed local artist Carol Kravitz.
“Ruth has been so instrumental in effecting many policies that were eventually adopted by either the Planning Board or the Township Council that significantly improved the quality of life in Weehawken,” Turner said. “Her efforts in terms of preservation of the Palisades have been tireless. In her leadership role, she had a positive effect in terms of ordinances for open space requirements and access to the waterfront.”
Added Turner, “She fought many battles with developers because she knew what they were doing was not good for the community. In addition to her tenacity, she has a dedication to the causes and has the unique sense to strike a compromise. Plain and simple, she gets things done. She has the ability to have a goal and see it through legislation and fruition. This night was in honor of someone who had a tremendous impact on the history of the township.”
Crew agreed.
“It was just a way for all of us to say, ‘Thank you,'” Crew said. “It was never about herself. It was always for the community. I think it was our way of honoring her and thanking her for all the hard work. She’s definitely made Weehawken a better place, and she’s accomplished so much.”
Elsasser said that she never expected to receive such an honor.
“I’m not one for much fanfare,” Elsasser said. “No one let on, not even Max. I had friends who didn’t call me for a week, because they were afraid they might slip up and tell me. It was a total surprise. I can’t believe it. It wasn’t just people from Weehawken, but people from all over. I never considered anything like it.”
Elsasser, who has called Weehawken home since 1955, said that there are certain keys to her success.
“It takes perseverance and patience,” Elsasser said. “You can’t go to just one meeting, then go home and think you’ve accomplished something. You have to keep going back, speaking up. I love Weehawken and never want to move away. I just want to make sure that we keep the views, that we have access to the waterfront. I fight for what I believe in and it never ends.”
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