People
She’s the thread keeping community together
BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
In the cozy basement of the Henry
Street Settlement’s offi ces at the
Vladeck Houses, Ruth Taube, 95,
has kept a fortress of fabric scraps,
knitting and crocheting tools and sewing
machines. She even has a fi tting
room.
Since 1966, the basement has been
the location of Taube’s Home Planning
Workshop — tea and coffee provided.
The workshop formerly even sported
programs to build and repair furniture,
and repair televisions, radios and
shoes. Ten years ago, budget cuts to her
sewing class led her students to protest.
They called the settlement’s then-director
and former Assembly Speaker Sheldon
Silver. Eventually, the New York
City Housing Authority provided cash
to revive the program.
“It’s always been from Day One from
when I started in 1966, learn to do for
yourself and you won’t be in need,” she
said. “Help yourself and you’ll be on
the right track.”
Taube, a lifetime Lower East Sider
who lives in the Seward Park Cooperative,
has become a fi xture in the neighborhood.
She’s been featured in The New York
Times for her workshop and invited
onto Mo Rocca’s cooking show, “My
Grandmother’s Ravioli,” to make her
matzo ball soup. She raised her daughter
in the neighborhood as a single
PHOTOS BY SYDNEY PEREIRA
Ruth Taube has taught generations of Lower East Siders how to make and repair clothes.
mother after her husband died from
injuries in World War II.
On a recent Wednesday, a neighborhood
couple dropped by to visit Taube.
The husband revealed he no longer
needs to attend the class, having recently
learned sewing skills from her.
But her workshop has evolved from a
sewing class into a small community.
Often, Taube said, her regulars come
in asking for help with other myriad issues.
Recently, the instructor helped a
woman call Spectrum to fi x her cable.
Sometimes they come to her asking for
advice on personal issues.
“Listen, I’ve been in this business for
100 years,” Taube said. “I talk to people
in a sensible way and in a sympathetic
way and understanding because if they
need help, I know how to answer them
because I know what it is when I need
help, how I would like somebody to
talk to me.”
Her workshop has become smaller,
and few young people join her classes
these days, she said. Still, sometimes as
many as 20 people will come Tuesday
or Wednesday afternoons from 1 p.m.
to 4 p.m.
“Henry St. is my second life,” Taube
said. “I have a big history here.”
Ruth Taube is like a one-woman “Garment Center” at the Henry St. Settlement.
24 January 10, 2019 TVG Schneps Media