Residents gathered at Brett Park on the evening of June 21, the summer solstice, to honor the late Marvin Mausner, a dedicated environmentalist who died in March 2007.

By council resolution, an area of the park sloping to a cove of the Hackensack River was named the Marvin Mausner Meadow.  A plaque designed by artist Rick Mills marks the newly named meadow.

Mausner was one of the founders of the Hackensack River Greenway that runs from Brett Park in the north to the southernmost Teaneck portion of the riverbank at Terhune Park. 

A scientist with a Ph.D. in chemistry and holder of more than 80 patents, Mausner was active in preserving the environment in both his professional and recreational life.

Jordan Wouk, who succeeded Mausner as chair of the Hackensack River Greenway Advisory Board and a neighbor of Mausner and his wife Laura, recalled that soon after moving into his Cumberland Avenue home he observed a man older then himself cutting his grass with a manual lawn mower.

"I had heard he was an environmentalist, and when I saw this I knew that it was true," Wouk said.

Township engineer Charles McKearnin, another close friend, said that Greenway originated with Mausner.

"It was his idea. He was extremely dedicated to keeping the area along the river green," McKearnin said. 

New Jersey State Sen. Loretta Weinberg recalled Mausner as a man who lived life to the fullest.

"He loved cycling, camping and music and he loved Teaneck," Weinberg said.

Laura Mausner, who attended the dedication with the couple’s two adult children, recalled how she and her future husband met as teenagers more than 40 years ago in New York City at a youth orchestra concert in New York City. Both were gifted musicians, Marvin a violinist and Laura, a cellist. The couple performed with amateur orchestras and chamber groups throughout their marriage.  

They also shared a passion for the outdoors, enjoying biking and canoeing in Maine, Cape Cod and the Adirondacks. 

"He was dedicated to the outdoors and it would have delighted him to know that a portion of this park has been named for him forever," she said.

The Teaneck Community Scholarship Fund has set up a scholarship in Marvin Mausner’s name for students interested in studying chemistry, the environment or music, the three fields that were his life’s interest.