Sex Therapist Dr. Ruth Honored With Fort Tryon Park Tulips

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Holocaust survivor, former sniper, talk show host, sex therapist, author and professor Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer has had an extraordinary life.

This Wednesday, the 93-year-old and longtime Washington Heights resident was honored for her work championing Fort Tryon Park.

The Fort Tryon Park Trust and NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue dedicated new "Dr. Ruth" tulips within the uptown park at the Cafe Lawn Promenade, officials announced.

Ruth played a major role 25 years ago in the creation of the Fort Tryon Park Trust conservancy and has since worked to help restore the 67-acre park. She continues to serve on the board today.

Her granddaughter became engaged at "Dr. Ruth's" bench, which was dedicated to her late husband Fred, and was the first bench plaque dedication in the park over 20 years ago, the New York City Parks Department said in a news release.

"It takes a village to keep a park thriving, and we are so grateful that Ruth, a long-time resident of Washington Heights was so passionate about Fort Tryon that she advocated for it to be reclaimed following its decline after the City's fiscal crisis," said Jeff Bauml, Chair of the Fort Tryon Park Trust, during the ceremony. "For the past 25 years, she's remained involved on the board of the Fort Tryon Park Trust and in its partnership with NYC Parks and the community to sustain this cherished open space."

The dedication ceremony on Wednesday celebrated the new tulip cultivar, the "Dr. Ruth" tulip created in her honor by the Dutch Bulb company Boltha. It was attended by her family members, uptown elected officials, and friends from the neighborhood.

Boltha donates hundreds of these "short but vibrant" tulips to Fort Tryon Park for the ceremony.

The "Dr. Ruth Tulip" can be officially found in the Fort Tryon Park Trust's plant finder.