Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Born and raised in Newark, Patricia Sheehan attended Trinity College in Washington, D.C., where she met her husband, Daniel, a native of the New Brunswick area. When her husband was appointed City Commissioner in the late 1950s, the family moved to New Brunswick. Six months later, her husband died very suddenly. Sheehan got involved in New Brunswick politics. In 1967, Sheehan and the others in the “New Five” defeated the incumbent five-member commission that had been in power for twenty-seven years. From 1967 to 1974, Sheehan served as the mayor of New Brunswick. Two months after assuming office, in the summer of 1967, violent riots broke out in Newark, Plainfield and other cities across New Jersey. New Brunswick suffered only minor property damage, and a later federal panel credited Sheehan’s adept engagement of the local community in minimizing the severity of the riot. In 1974, Sheehan accepted a position as commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. She then returned to work at Johnson & Johnson. Sheehan discusses city politics, relations between New Brunswick and Rutgers, the decline of American cities after World War II, and New Brunswick in the period before redevelopment began in the 1970s. Sheehan also explores the decision of Johnson & Johnson to keep its headquarters in New Brunswick. In terms of redevelopment, Sheehan comments on the involvement of Rutgers, the importance of local hospitals and cultural institutions and the role played by the Department of Community Affairs.
The Rutgers Oral History Archives is part of the Department of History at Rutgers University. Learn more at https://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/new-brunswick-redevelopment-oral-histories
Born and raised in Newark, Patricia Sheehan attended Trinity College in Washington, D.C., where she met her husband, Daniel, a native of the New Brunswick area. When her husband was appointed City Commissioner in the late 1950s, the family moved to New Brunswick. Six months later, her husband died very suddenly. Sheehan got involved in New Brunswick politics. In 1967, Sheehan and the others in the “New Five” defeated the incumbent five-member commission that had been in power for twenty-seven years. From 1967 to 1974, Sheehan served as the mayor of New Brunswick. Two months after assuming office, in the summer of 1967, violent riots broke out in Newark, Plainfield and other cities across New Jersey. New Brunswick suffered only minor property damage, and a later federal panel credited Sheehan’s adept engagement of the local community in minimizing the severity of the riot. In 1974, Sheehan accepted a position as commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. She then returned to work at Johnson & Johnson. Sheehan discusses city politics, relations between New Brunswick and Rutgers, the decline of American cities after World War II, and New Brunswick in the period before redevelopment began in the 1970s. Sheehan also explores the decision of Johnson & Johnson to keep its headquarters in New Brunswick. In terms of redevelopment, Sheehan comments on the involvement of Rutgers, the importance of local hospitals and cultural institutions and the role played by the Department of Community Affairs.
The Rutgers Oral History Archives is part of the Department of History at Rutgers University. Learn more at https://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/new-brunswick-redevelopment-oral-histories
