Family, friends and elected officials past and present gathered Wednesday to remember Ronnie Eldridge, the pioneering political leader who died last week at age 95 after a career in public life that spanned more than 60 years.
A Reform Democrat from the Upper West Side, Eldridge was a trusted adviser to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Mayor John Lindsay and Rep. Bella Abzug. She held a top post in Gov. Mario Cuomo’s administration and was later elected to three terms on the City Council.
Loved ones and political leaders celebrated her legacy.
“Ronnie Eldridge was an icon in New York City political history,” former Rep. Carolyn Maloney said.
What You Need To Know
Ronnie Eldridge, an adviser to Robert F. Kennedy and Mayor John Lindsay who later served three terms on the City Council, died last week at 95
Family, friends and elected officials remembered her as an icon of New York politics at a memorial service Wednesday
Eldridge, who was married for almost 35 years to columnist Jimmy Breslin, spent her final decades hosting a talk show on CUNY TV
“She was a pioneer in the women’s movement, along with Bella, with whom she was very close,” Manhattan Rep. Jerrold Nadler said. “She was one of the leaders of second-wave feminism.”
A 1970 New York magazine profile of Eldridge, by feminist writer and activist Gloria Steinem, speculated about a potential future run for mayor.
It wouldn’t come to pass. But her activism blazed a trail, particularly on women’s issues.
“I’ve always believed there’s a woman’s perspective to public policy,” Eldridge said in a 2006 TV interview. “There is a woman’s way of thinking, and we do affect public policy. I think we’re more sensible, we see the more common-sense things. We just connect differently.”
“She was an iconic figure in so many movements: anti-war, women’s movement, elective office, protecting the most vulnerable,” Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal.
“She was a little bit self-effacing, so that it’s possible that most people will not — especially young people — won’t know her name,” former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman said. “But everybody who cared about politics in the 70s, the 80s and the 60s knew the name Ronnie Eldridge. And it was a gold standard for people in politics.”
Eldridge, who was married for almost 35 years to legendary columnist Jimmy Breslin, would spend her final decades in public life hosting a talk show on CUNY TV.
When she turned 75 in 2006, she was asked for her birthday wishes.
“I hope that my grandchildren — I have six of them, and five stepgrandchildren — and I hope that they all live in a world that’s filled with peace and justice and happiness and health,” she said.