Short answers, pulled from the story.
State legislation signed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in April 1961 formally established CUNY as an amalgamation of existing institutions including the Free Academy, Hunter College, Brooklyn College, and Queens College. John R. Everett became the first chancellor of what would become the City University of New York system in 1960.
Townsend Harris published a letter on the 15th of March 1847 proposing a free public school which led to the establishment of the Free Academy on the 7th of May 1847. The institution opened formally on the 21st of January 1849 under principal Dr. Horace Webster.
The Board of Higher Education voted to implement open admissions immediately in fall 1970 guaranteeing entrance to all high school graduates without traditional exams or grades. This policy nearly doubled enrollment from 20,000 to 35,000 students overnight while tripling Black and Hispanic participation.
In fall 1976 during New York City's fiscal crisis free tuition ended under pressure from federal government officials and financial institutions rescuing the city from bankruptcy. State funding shifted responsibility for senior colleges to New York State while introducing tuition fees across all CUNY campuses.
Felix V. Matos Rodriguez assumed chancellorship the 1st of May 2019 becoming the first Latino and minority educator to lead the university. Governor Kathy Hochul signed free community college programs expanding access to residents aged 25-55 without prior degrees by the 1st of July 2025.