ABSTRACT
The Forest Hills controversy actually began in Mario Corona, a less affluent, predominantly Italian neghborhood some two miles from Forest Hills. The controversy over the construction of three apartment buidings in Forest Hills, New York City, between 1971 and 1973 is an important example, as perceived by some whites, of the problem of black "invasion" of a white neighborhood. There are several reasons for studying the Forest Hills controversy and Cuomo's response to his assignment. The housing was to be moved across the Long Island Expressway to Forest Hills, the heart of middle-income Queens. Cuomo was first approached by former Deputy Mayor Richard Aurelio to assist in resolving a Forest Hills controversy that was fast becoming the Forest Hills crisis. Cuomo firmly believes in the value of mediation for settling community disputes. In order to determine the depth and breadth of community opposition, Cuomo had to operate on two levels: rational level and emotional level.
