Bronx trailblazer June Eisland remembered for decades of public service

Former City Councilwoman June Eisland, regarded as 'the mother of the MetroCard,' died June 12 at 85.

File photo

June Eisland, a 23-year veteran of the New York City Council who represented the 11th District over three mayoral administrations, died in hospital June 12. She was 85.

The cause of death was not disclosed. 

Elected on the heels of the financial crises of the 1970s, Eisland supported her constituency, often during tension-filled cycles of transformation in the Bronx and New York City itself.

A Riverdale resident for more than 60 years, Eisland first entered the political arena at the grassroots level in the 1960s as a tenant’s association board member for her rental apartment. She was also a Riverdale Neighborhood House supporter while contemporaneously broadening her engagement and activism through participation in the League of Women Voters.

A Democratic party stalwart for more than half a century, Eisland’s political ambitions and appetite were, nevertheless, whetted as a volunteer for former Republican mayoral candidate John V. Lindsay, who sought and won that coveted position in 1965.

Dismayed by his party’s failures, Lindsay later cut ties with Republicans, switching to the Democratic Party in 1971.

While working under Lindsay, Eisland did not have an office. David Stein, founder and publisher of The Riverdale Press, gave her an office at the paper, and the two became close friends.

Charles Moerdler, chair of the Community Board 8 Land Use Committee, recalled Eisland as “the voice and heart of Riverdale.”

“My first impression of her was a firecracker.” Moerdler said. “She had real spirit and was willing and anxious to ring doorbells for John Lindsay — that was my first encounter with her [in 1965]. From the start, she did everything she did with conviction.”

Eisland won her own contest for elected office in 1979, earning a spot on the City Council, where she gained experience and prominence as chair of the transportation committee and, later, as chair of the land use committee.  

In leading the transportation committee, Eisland’s efforts to improve and modernize the commuter experience yielded decisive results: a resurgence in private ferry service, primarily serving cross-Hudson River commutes between New Jersey and Manhattan; and an upgrade of the transportation fare system through the launch of the MetroCard in 1994.

While not the first electronic card-based system introduced in a major U.S. city, the MetroCard nonetheless eliminated the need for cash or tokens and provided riders welcomed fare incentives.

Longtime state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz remembered Eisland as a close ally.

“June was a colleague and, more importantly, a friend,” Dinowitz said. “[She] was the first woman to represent our district on the City Council and had a long record of accomplishment. She knew how to get things done in our community — not by yelling and screaming, but by persuasion and doing her homework. I will miss her.”

During much of her time in office, Eisland was also an active and influential representative on urban issues through the National League of Cities, an organization of more than 2,700 cities, towns and municipalities across the country, Eisland served as its advisory council chair.

Working closely with regional and national leaders seeking advancement of local government agendas and policies, Eisland shared the city’s triumphs and tribulations while seeking out and pioneering solutions and best practices ostensibly ripe for transplant to New York. 

Eisland continued to work on transportation and land-use issues in the private sector once her final council term ended in 2002, and she remained engaged in community and citywide issues. 

She is survived by her husband and political confidante of 48 years, Paul Eisland; her son, Bruce Margolin; stepson Evan Eisland; stepdaughter Marla Eisland and five grandchildren.

June and Paul Eisland met while Paul was running a campaign for a congressional candidate and June was invited to an office meeting. That, Paul said, was the beginning, and a short time later they married.

“She was the love of my life,” he said. 

Paul said June loved the community and being a city councilwoman.

“She came to Riverdale …  and just loved everything about it,” he said. “She cared about the people. Her office was one of the best community-service offices in the city.”

-with reporting by Michelle Mullen, Olivia Young and Jason Chirevas