Former Gov. Hugh Carey, who led New York through its darkest financial days in the mid-1970s, died at his Long Island summer house yesterday.
The 92-year-old, two-term chief executive “passed away peacefully at his much-loved summer home on Shelter Island,” Gov. Cuomo said.
Carey, the Empire State’s 51st governor, served from 1975 to 1982.
He decided not to seek a third term and was succeeded by Gov. Cuomo’s father, Mario.
“He was widely credited with saving the city of New York from bankruptcy,” Gov. Cuomo said.
The Democrat took office in January 1975, as Gotham flirted with financial insolvency.
Banks and the federal government initially refused to bail out the Big Apple — but Carey forged a rescue plan that eventually saved the city from default.
Carey at the time told New Yorkers that the path to financial solvency wouldn’t be easy, famously declaring: “The days of wine and roses are over.”
“He called for shared sacrifice and asked all New Yorkers to come together,” Gov. Cuomo said.
“New Yorkers across the state heard the governor’s call to action, followed his lead, and the ship was righted.”
More than a dozen cars were parked outside Carey’s sprawling gray home yesterday as loved ones rushed to the scene to mourn.
“He was a great veteran, a great legislator, a great executive and a great father,” son Michael Carey said at the family’s doorstep.
The 57-year-old son said Gov. Carey loved decorating the Shelter Island home with political souvenirs and enjoyed retired life, golfing and taking in his splendid view of Gardiners Bay.
“He was a giant among men. He was a wonderful leader and a wonderful father,” the younger Carey said.
“He was loved by many and will be missed by more.”
Hugh Leo Carey was born on April 11, 1919, in Brooklyn.
He enlisted in the Army and served in World War II.
During his decorated military career, Carey’s unit liberated the Nordhausen concentration camp in Nazi Germany.
He retired as a colonel, having been awarded the Combat Infantry Award, Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre.
He entered politics and unseated a four-term Republican in 1960 to win a seat in the US House of Representatives.
Before heading to Albany, Carey served a congressional district in Brooklyn for 14 years, in a seat taken over by now-US Sen. Charles Schumer.
“Governor Carey rose from the streets of his beloved Brooklyn . . . but was always rooted in his Irish heritage, his faith, his extraordinary commitment to family and his love for New York,” Schumer said.
During Carey’s term in Albany, city and state boosters hatched the iconic “I Love New York” advertising campaign.
Gov. Carey and his first wife, Helen, had 14 children before she passed away in 1974.
He remarried in 1981 to Chicago millionaire Evangeline Gouletas before they got divorced in 1989.
Additional reporting by Frederic U. Dicker in Albany