Maple Ridge Activist Betsy Horowitz Passes

[Conan71]

Tulsa's original neighborhood activist Betsy Horowitz died on Monday.  She led the charge to stop a Riverside Expressway from destrying the western part of Maple Ridge.  She also was a mayoral candidate in the 1970's.  I had gotten to know the Horowitz family as neighbors at Grand Lake in the 1980's, Betsy was a strong personality and was always quick with an opinion.  She rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with her aggressive nature, but usually had the best interest of the community in mind.

RIP Betsy.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090506_11_A14_Foecet573771&archive=yes

[waterboy]

Saddens me a bit. She also served time as a voting precinct aide. That must have been hard for her not to speak up! I agree with your assessment. Nice lady, nice home, good citizen. Saved my house years before I bought it.

[PonderInc]

I never met Ms Horowitz, but owe her a debt of gratitude for saving Maple Ridge from what would have been a devestating and stupid expressway.  I lived at 21st and Cinncinati for years, and shudder to imagine what would have been destroyed!  

If only there had been more people like her in the 50's, 60's and 70's, perhaps we would not have the ridiculous IDL today...and would not have suffered the devestation to some of the finest neighborhoods and architectural treasures in Tulsa...in addition to the ghettoization of neighborhoods that were cut off from each other and downtown.  (Whenever I walk near the IDL, I think of Sherman marching to Atlanta, destroying everything in his path...and then I think of the Berlin Wall...)

Three cheers for Ms. Horowitz, who had the vision and the guts to fight for what was best for Tulsa, both then and now.

[FOTD]

I never met Ms Horowitz, but owe her a debt of gratitude for saving Maple Ridge from what would have been a devestating and stupid expressway.  I lived at 21st and Cinncinati for years, and shudder to imagine what would have been destroyed!  

If only there had been more people like her in the 50's, 60's and 70's, perhaps we would not have the ridiculous IDL today...and would not have suffered the devestation to some of the finest neighborhoods and architectural treasures in Tulsa...in addition to the ghettoization of neighborhoods that were cut off from each other and downtown.  (Whenever I walk near the IDL, I think of Sherman marching to Atlanta, destroying everything in his path...and then I think of the Berlin Wall...)

Three cheers for Ms. Horowitz, who had the vision and the guts to fight for what was best for Tulsa, both then and now.

Yes. But without the IDL we would not have Broken Arrow, Owasso, Sand Springs and Jenks stealing our tax base and looting our fine local public education system.

Way to go Betsy. You were the laughing stock of the oligarchy. They made more fun of you than any single person in Tulsa history. But you were always breaking their code of silence and getting to the bottom of what was being directed from the locker room. The real estate speculators tried to shut her up. She had to accept being ridiculed in the media.

Preserve Midtown should change their name to the Betsy Horowitz Preservation Society.