MARIO FOR SALE
Cuomo relics to fetch big bucks
Former threeterm Gov. Mario Cuomo may be gone, but Mario Mania has just begun.
There’s a revival of interest in all things Cuomo as political memorabilia collectors dust off their merchandise of New York’s first Italian-American chief executive and father of the current governor, Andrew Cuomo.
One famous artist who painted Cuomo said he’s even going back into the studio to do more portraits as a tribute to the man he regarded as a friend. Cuomo, 82, died of heart failure on Jan. 1.
“I’ve known the last six or seven presidents, but [Cuomo] was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met,” artist Peter Max told The Post.
“Now that there’s a lot of interest about him, I’m thinking about pulling the paintings out and doing some new versions of them . . . He cared so much about people. It’s fantastic to know people like that.”
Memorabilia maven Mort “the Button Man” Berkowitz said he expects to sell out his Cuomo collection during the American Political Items Collectors show on Feb. 1, to be held at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue in Manhattan’s East Village.
Berkowitz’s prize possession? A poster of Peter Max’s four splashy paintings of Cuomo with a “tribute to the governor of New York” statement emblazoned at the bottom.
Berkowitz — a neighbor of Max who actually bought the Cuomo poster in Washington, DC — expects to fetch five times what he paid for it. He’ll also display campaign buttons going back to Cuomo’s first race for lieutenant governor in 1974.
“There will be a special exhibit for Mario Cuomo political memorabilia commemorating his long political career,” he said. “Mario has staying power. He elevated everyone.”
About 170 items of Cuomo memorabilia are listed for sale on eBay — campaign buttons, posters, signed books, baseballs and letters. There are even pictures from his days playing minor league baseball.