When Dee died in June 2014, the city sought a way to honor her memory and acknowledge her contributions to the city.
Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis, were committed to the New Rochelle community where they lived for more than 50 years. Ossie Davis died on 2005.
The Ruby Dee Commemorative Committee, chaired by Councilman Jared Rice, recommended that the park adjacent to the Library be renamed the “Ruby Dee Park at the Library Green”.
The park, owned by Westchester County, received unanimous approval for renaming by the Board of Legislators.
“The people of New Rochelle will never forget Ruby Dee's special place in our community,” said Mayor Noam Bramson. “Now her name will grace the heart of our downtown, in lasting and loving tribute to a remarkable actor, leader, and human being."
The family remarked about the honor, “We are pleased and honored that the life and contributions of our beloved mother-grandmother-sister-aunt Ruby will be inscribed in the historical memory of New Rochelle—among the neighbors and friends she loved for more than 51 years. How fitting that the Ruby Dee Park is adjacent to the Ossie Davis Theater! Together forever.”
Members of the Ruby Dee Commemorative Committee included Dr. Hasna Muhammad, daughter of the late actress, her husband, Wali Muhammad, Linda Tarrant-Reid, Michelle Sanchez-Boyce, Alvin Clayton, the Rev. Dr. Allen Paul Weaver, Jr, Kathy Gilwit, and City Historian Barbara Davis.
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