Former Gov. Mario Cuomo died hours after his son, Andrew, was sworn in to a second term as governor of New York.
Photo Courtesy of David Berkowitz
Mario Cuomo, a boy from Briarwood who went on to become the 52nd governor of New York, died of natural causes due to heart failure on Jan. 1. He was 82.
The married father of five and grandfather of 14 passed away at his Manhattan home hours after his eldest son, Andrew, was sworn in to his second term as governor of the Empire State.
“He couldn’t be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here, and his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his inaugural address last Thursday at One World Trade Center.
Mario Matthew Cuomo was born on June 15, 1932, the son of Italian immigrants who ran a grocery store in Jamaica. An attorney by trade, Cuomo first gained public recognition, according to the Office of the Governor, for his resolution of the Forest Hills housing controversy in 1972. He was appointed to serve as the secretary of state of New York in 1975, and in 1978 he was elected as lieutenant governor—he was sworn in to that office by then Supreme Court Justice Richard Brown, who would later become Queens District Attorney.
Cuomo received national attention for his 1984 Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.
Prior to his election as governor in 1983, Cuomo practiced law for 18 years, simultaneously teaching as an adjunct professor for more than 10 years at St. John’s University School of Law in Jamaica.
Cuomo served as New York’s chief executive from 1983 through 1994. He was credited with improving the business environment of New York and the quality of life for its citizens, despite a national recession at the time.
Additionally, Cuomo presented 11 consecutive balanced budgets, reduced taxes, and implemented comprehensive governmental ethics and fiscal reforms, according to the governor’s office. His administration became the first in the country to develop an energy plan and to sign into law controls on acid rain, among many undertakings.
In 2014, Cuomo and his wife, Matilda, celebrated 60 years of marriage.
“I was deeply saddened by the passing of former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “He was a friend and advisor who greatly influenced my life and the lives of a generation of young lawyers. A son of Queens, he will be missed by all for his wise counsel, heartfelt compassion for the downtrodden, fierce advocacy for justice and inspiring oratory. On a personal note, Gov. Cuomo enabled me to serve as both a judge and a district attorney—he twice appointed me as a justice of the Appellate Division and in 1991, appointed me as District Attorney of Queens County—and for that I will be forever grateful. My heart goes out to Matilda, Andrew and the entire Cuomo family.”
State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said, “On Jan. 1, our state and nation lost one of the most credible public servants I have ever known when former Gov. Mario Cuomo passed away. An inspiration for many, especially Italian-Americans and Queens natives, Mario Cuomo led our state with compassion and straightforward determination. I remember with fondness his professional friendship with my father, as they supported each other politically. My prayers are with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his family during this difficult time.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
