[1] Major W. Arthur Cunningham served in World War I as a member of the 165 Infantry of the United States Army.

[2][3] A resident of Forest Hills, Major Cunningham successfully ran as a Republican for the position of controller of New York City in 1933.

[12] Cunningham died of a heart attack while riding a horse in Asharoken, Long Island.

[14] In 1935, the Board of Aldermen voted in favor of renaming Hillside Park in honor of Cunningham.

[15][16][17] In 1940, New York City bought a piece of land in order to connect discontinuous segments of Francis Lewis Boulevard and to expand Cunningham Park.