The New York Times is reporting former New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo died Thurs., Jan. 1, at his home in Manhattan. He was 82. His family confirmed the death, which occurred only hours after Cuomo's son, Andrew M. Cuomo, was inaugurated in Manhattan for a second term as governor. Mario Cuomo led the state from 1983 through 1994. He was a leading liberal voice whose hopes for an activist government were thwarted by recession. He found himself struggling with the state Legislature not over what the government should do but over what programs should be cut, and what taxes should be raised, simply to balance the budget. Mario Cuomo was the son of Italian immigrants and grew up in the Queens neighborhood of South Jamaica. He played minor league baseball before embarking on a legal and political career. His oratory and his dedication to progressive policies made him a political star, but despite calls to seek the White House, he never made a run for president. Cuomo is survived by his wife Matilda N. Raffa Cuomo, five children and 14 grandchildren.

PLAY an excerpt from Mario Cuomo's "Tale of Two Cities" keynote address to the 1984 Democratic Convention (4:23). [NOTE: If playing on air, please skip advertisement at beginning.]