Ruth Wittenberg

[4] After moving to Greenwich Village, she became concerned about the rapid pace of change in the neighborhood, and joined community efforts to advocate for preservation of buildings and against what she saw as destructive real estate projects.

[5][6] In the late 1960s, Wittenberg was involved in an unsuccessful protest against the construction of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at New York University, which she and other local residents considered too large for its site at Washington Square Park.

[7] She was part of an effort, led by Margot Gayle, to preserve the Jefferson Market Courthouse building on 10th Street, which now houses a branch of the New York Public Library.

In the late 1970s, she protested architect Hugh Hardy's proposed replacement design for 18 West 11th Street, the town house destroyed in an accidental explosion caused the detonation of a bomb built by members of the Weather Underground.

[11] During the 1980s, Wittenberg opposed architect James Polshek's design for a residential building on Avenue of the Americas between Waverly and Washington Place, citing its lack of a cornice and projecting lintels and window sills.