Early Life, Education, and Early Career
Cuomo was born in Queens, New York, the eldest son of Matilda (née Raffa) and Governor Mario Cuomo. He is the older brother of ABC News journalist Chris Cuomo. His parents are both of Italian descent; his paternal grandparents were from Nocera Superiore and Tramonti in South Italy, while his maternal grandparents were both from Sicily (his grandfather from Messina).
Cuomo graduated from Saint Gerard's School in 1971 and Archbishop Molloy High School in 1975. He received his B.A. from Fordham University in 1979, and his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1982. During his father's 1982 campaign for Governor, Cuomo was his top aide. He then joined the Governor's staff as one of his father's top policy advisors, earning $1 a year.
From 1984 to 1985, Cuomo was a New York assistant district attorney, and briefly worked at the law firm of Blutrich, Falcone & Miller. Cuomo founded Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (HELP) in 1986 and left his law firm to run HELP full-time in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, during the administration of Mayor of New York City David Dinkins, Cuomo served as Chairman of the New York City Homeless Commission, which was charged with developing policies to address the homeless issue in the city and to develop more housing options.
Read more about this topic: Andrew Cuomo
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