Ruth Berk, the 91-year-old Christopher Street resident, and a historic part of the Village—she ended a career as an opera singer to open the Waverly Lounge in the Hotel Earl on Washington Square North, and became its resident cabaret singer—finally returned home to 95 Christopher Street on January 22, after spending 11.5 months in two nursing homes at the direction of “Acting” Justice Tanya Kennedy, who found her “incompetent” to handle her own affairs without ever holding a hearing which Ruth could attend. Ruth’s return was part of a long volunteer effort by Village District Leader and attorney Arthur Schwartz to free her from the nursing home. He continues to fight to end the guardianship which he has described as an “unconstitutional imprisonment.” A hearing is set for February 9. Said Ruth (pictured above in front of a 1940s portrait and with Schwartz): “This may be the sweetest day of my life; it’s like getting out of prison for a crime I didn’t commit. Thanks to all my neighbors for your support.”
