Cunningham Park

W. Arthur Cunningham (1894 – May 5, 1934) was Irish American lawyer, war hero, and NYC comptroller.

Cunningham was born in Manhattan, grew up in Brooklyn, and received his law degree from Fordham University in 1915. Cunningham served in the United States Army during World War I and rose to the rank of major, he fought the Germans in Lunéville, France, and received the Croix de Guerre with Palm for conspicuous bravery and the Purple Heart decoration for military merit. After the war he went into banking, and was an officer in the Textile Banking Corporation, first as counsel and later as vice president, until 1933. He lived with his wife and two sons in Forest Hills, Queens.

Cunningham, an independent Democrat, and successfully ran for the position of New York City Comptroller in 1933 on Mayor LaGuardia's Fusion ticket, he served for four months before suffering a heart attack at age 39 in May 1934.

Sources:

“Cunningham Park,” New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, accessed March 31, 2023, https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/cunningham-park/history

"Cunningham Dies; Fusion's Control In City Menaced; City Controller Was 39,” The New York Times, May 6, 1934, https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/06/archives/cunningham-dies-fusions-control-in-city-menaced-city-controller-was.html

Weer, William, "Cunningham Was World War Hero Before He Took Up City Financing," Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 6, 1934, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103195702/cunningham/

Wikidata contributors, "Q5194328”, Wikidata, accessed December 14, 2023, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5194328

Wikidata contributors, "Q108069838”, Wikidata, accessed December 14, 2023, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108069838

“25694863,” OpenStreetMap, accessed December 14, 2023, https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/25694863