On Patriots’ Day, a group of current and former Newtonville Area Council (NAC) members and Newton City Councilors, along with family and friends, gathered on Walnut Street in Newtonville to dedicate a bench to the memory of Susan Reisler, a longtime community leader and NAC member. The plaque on the bench was commissioned by the NAC. Ms. Reisler died after a long illness on November 16, 2024.
Organized by NAC Members, Dana D’Agostino and Carolyn Gabbay, the dedication included personal reflections by Ward 2 City Council members Tarik Lucas and David Micley, Ward 4 City Councilor Randall Block, Newtonville activist Kathleen Kouril Greiser, former Ward 2 Councilor Peter Harrington, the NAC’s past president Jennifer Bentley, and Peter Bruce, Susan’s husband. All paid tribute to her intelligence, integrity, and her vision for Newtonville, and acknowledged the couple’s closeness –so much so that everyone thought of them as “Peter and Susan” or “Susan and Peter.”
State Representative Amy Sangiolo joined the group, as did Councilor Julia Malakie and former Ward 2 Councilor Emily Norton.
Councilors Micley and Lucas each spoke about the support and advice Susan Reisler and Peter Bruce offered them. Councilor Micley said that Ms. Reisler had strong views but was always civil and promoted civility. He suggested that people could come to the bench dedicated in her honor to sit and discuss their views. Councilor Lucas, who served on the NAC with Ms. Reisler, emphasized her commitment to Newtonville.
Newtonville activist Kathleen Kouril Grieser described Susan Reisler as a person who tried to make the world better, saner, and kinder. She said, “Ms. Reisler wasn’t afraid of anybody.”
Mr. Harrington, who has served as a State Representative and Alderman (the former title of City Councilors), told the audience that the purpose of Area Councils was a nexus of politics and people.
Following the unveiling of the plaque, on a bench near 325 Walnut Street, and a reading by Ms. Bentley of a Commonwealth resolution in her honor, Ms. Reisler’s husband, Peter Bruce — a former NAC president — paid tribute to his wife. He underscored the appropriate choice of Patriots’ Day because she was a patriot, he said. He said that his wife — born in the Bronx, New York and a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, the city’s most prestigious exam school, and the City College of New York — was a gifted writer who developed NAC’s community surveys. He noted her sardonic smile and her capacity to ask tough questions of politicians. And he paid tribute to her great courage in the face of her illness.
Having worked closely with Susan Reisler as colleagues on the NAC, Dana D’Agostino spoke admiringly of how much Ms. Reisler did for Newtonville. “It’s fitting that we honored her in Newtonville’s center, the focus of her activism.”
