Arlene Stringer-Cuevas (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Gluss; September 25, 1933 – April 3, 2020) was an American politician, educator, and civil servant. She was a schoolteacher before serving on the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

from 1976 to 1977. Stringer-Cuevas later worked for the

New York City Human Resources Administration The Human Resources Administration or Department of Social Services (HRA/DSS) is the department of the government of New York City in charge of the majority of the city's social services programs. HRA helps New Yorkers in need through a variety o ...

for 16 years until her retirement in 1994. She died during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

due to complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Early life

Stringer-Cuevas was born Arlene Gluss in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and was a school teacher. She lived in the

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

. She was Jewish.

Career

Stringer-Cuevas served as her neighborhood's Democratic Party district leader from 1969 to 1976. She was elected to the

in 1976 after winning a four-person primary for the Democratic nomination, becoming the first woman to represent Washington Heights. Stringer-Cuevas was defeated in the Democratic primary in 1977. Stringer-Cuevas then worked for the

from 1978 until her retirement in 1994.

Personal life

Stringer-Cuevas was part of a politically active family. Her first husband, Ronald Stringer, was an assistant to New York City Mayor

Abraham Beame Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy. ...

. Her second husband, Carlos Cuevas, was the New York City Clerk and a Deputy Borough President of the Bronx. Stringer-Cuevas' son

Scott Stringer Scott M. Stringer (born April 29, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 44th New York City Comptroller. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Stringer also previously served as a New York State Assemblyman, and as the 26th bo ...

was elected Borough President of Manhattan and

New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...

. She was the cousin of politician women's rights pioneer

Bella Abzug Bella Savitzky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, ...

. On April 3, 2020, at the age of 86, Stringer-Cuevas died from complications due to

Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Medical Center is a premier academic medical center and the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is located in the Norwoo ...

in the Bronx.

References

External links

2015 interview
by the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

Community Oral History Project - {{DEFAULTSORT:Striger-Cuevas, Arlene 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American educators 20th-century United States government officials 20th-century American women educators American women civil servants Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state) Educators from New York City Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Jewish women politicians New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Politicians from the Bronx Politicians from Manhattan Schoolteachers from New York (state) Women New York City Council members