Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff (June 28, 1930 – December 26, 2011) was an American born
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
aristocrat and the New York City highway commissioner during the administrations of
John V. Lindsay.
Early life
Constantine was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
into the house of
Sidamon-Eristavi, claiming descent from the medieval kings of
Aragvi
The Aragvi ( ka, არაგვი) and its basin are in Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are mostly sandstone, slate, and limestone. The Zhinv ...
. He was the son of Prince
Simon Sidamon-Eristoff, a Georgian military officer, who emigrated to the United States after the
Bolsheviks invaded Georgia in 1921, and Anne Tracy, a descendant of
John Bigelow
John Bigelow Sr. (November 25, 1817 – December 19, 1911) was an American lawyer, statesman, and historian who edited the complete works of Benjamin Franklin and the first autobiography of Franklin taken from Franklin's previously lost origina ...
, an American diplomat in the mid-19th century. In 1957 he married Anne Phipps Sidamon-Eristoff, a granddaughter of
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
's partner,
Henry Phipps Henry Phipps may refer to:
* Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879–1953), sportsman and financier
* Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), entrepreneur and major philanthropist
* Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, ...
.
Politics
Sidamon-Estiroff served as the New York City Highway commissioner in the administration of Mayor
John V. Lindsay. Beginning with his appointment by Governor
Malcolm Wilson of
New York in 1974-89 he served as a member of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...
.
From 1989 until 1993 under President
George H. W. Bush he served as the director of the New York Region #2 (encompassing New York,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and the
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
) of the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...
.
Philanthropy
In 1994, Sidamon-Eristoff founded American Friends of Georgia. Since then, AFG has been working toward its mission to provide practical humanitarian assistance to the people of Georgia in order to improve educational, economic, social, medical, and environmental conditions. American Friends of Georgia is a U.S. non-profit, non-political 501(c)(3) public charity with tax-exempt status. Upon his death, his son Simon Sidamon-Eristoff took over as chairman.
Death
Sidamon-Eristoff died on December 26, 2011 in New York City, aged 81. His son
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
has been involved in New York City and State politics, and was the
New Jersey State Treasurer from January 2010 until July 2015.
References
External links
Obituary nytimes.com, December 30, 2011; accessed March 28, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidamon-Eristoff, Constantine
1930 births
2011 deaths
People from New York City
American people of Georgian (country) descent