Joseph Laden

Mario Cuomo Has Died.

gregladen | January 1, 2015

I was a citizen of New York when Mario Cuomo became governor. I've written before about the ethnic angle of that event, how Cuomo, who was Italian, was the highest ranking ethnic Italian in New York, Italian immigrants still being repressed and seen as lesser folk by many even at that late date. When he became Governor, as I recall, people stopped telling certain jokes. He may have been one of the best governors ever, anywhere. He got a lot done as governor. It was almost like he could be in two places at once. And, actually, he did that once. Let me tell you the story. When my father…