166th New York State Legislature

New York state legislative session February 2025 October 2019 166th January 1, 1947 December 31, 1948 Lt. Gov. Joe R. Hanley (R) Benjamin F. Feinberg (R) Oswald D. Heck (R) 56 150 Republican 1947: (41–14–1) 1948: (40–15–1) Republican 1947: (109–40–1) 1948: (107–42–1) 1st January 8 March 18, 1947 2nd January 7 March 13, 1948 165th 167th The 166th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1947, to March 13, 1948, during the fifth and sixth years of Thomas E. Dewey's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1938, re-apportioned in 1943, 56 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms. The senatorial districts consisted either of one or more entire counties; or a contiguous area within a single county. The counties which were divided into more than one senatorial district were Kings (nine districts), New York (six), Bronx (five), Queens (four), Erie (three), Westchester (three), Monroe (two) and Nassau (two). The Assembly districts consisted either of a single entire county (except Hamilton Co.), or of contiguous area within one county. At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The American Labor Party, the Liberal Party and the Communist Party also nominated tickets. Elections The 1946 New York state election was held on November 5. Governor Thomas E. Dewey and Lieutenant Governor Joe R. Hanley were re-elected, both Republicans. The other five statewide elective offices up for election were carried by four Republicans, and the Democratic Chief Judge with Republican, American Labor and Liberal endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 2,826,000; Democrats 1,532,000; American Labor 429,000; Liberals 177,000; and Communists 90,000.The Communist Party did not nominate a candidate for Governor; this number is the average of the vote for Comptroller and Attorney General, the only two nominations made on the state ticket. All four women members of the previous legislature—State Senator Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur; and Assemblywomen Mary A. Gillen (Dem.), of Brooklyn; Gladys E. Banks (Rep.), of the Bronx; and Genesta M. Strong (Rep.), of Plandome Heights—were re-elected. Janet Hill Gordon (Rep.), a lawyer of Norwich; Elizabeth Hanniford (Rep.), a statistician of the Bronx; Mildred F. Taylor (Rep.), a coal dealer of Lyons; and Maude E. Ten Eyck (Rep.), of Manhattan; were also elected to the Assembly. The 1947 New York state election was held on November 4. No statewide elective offices were up for election. Four vacancies in the State Senate, and four vacancies in the Assembly were filled.MINOR PARTIES LOSE in The New York Times on November 5, 1947 (subscription required) Sessions The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 170th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1947;LEGISLATURE SEATS 8 WOMEN, A RECORD in The New York Times on January 9, 1947 (subscription required) and adjourned on March 18. Oswald D. Heck (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker. Benjamin F. Feinberg (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 171st) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1948;LEGISLATURE PUTS TEACHER PAY FIRST AS IT OPENS TODAY in The New York Times on January 8, 1948 (subscription required) and adjourned on March 13.LEGISLATURE LETS RENT LAWS STAND AS SESSION CLOSES in The New York Times on March 14, 1948 (subscription required) State Senate Districts 30em 1st District: Suffolk County 2nd and 3rd District: Parts of Nassau County 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn 17th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island) 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx 29th, 30th and 31st District: Parts of Westchester County 32nd District: Orange and Rockland counties 33rd District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties 34th District: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan and Ulster counties 35th District: Albany County 36th District: Rensselaer and Saratoga counties 37th District: Montgomery and Schenectady counties 38th District: Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties 39th District: St. Lawrence and Franklin counties 40th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Lewis counties 41st District: Oneida County 42nd District: Jefferson and Oswego counties 43rd District: Onondaga County 44th District: Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Otsego and Schoharie counties 45th District: Broome County 46th District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties 47th District: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne counties 48th District: Ontario, Steuben and Yates counties 49th District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties 50th and 51st District: Parts of Monroe County 52nd District: Niagara and Orleans counties 53rd, 54th and 55th District: Parts of Erie County 56th District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties Members The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. MacNeil Mitchell, Sidney A. Fine and George T. Manning changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Assemblyman Ernest I. Hatfield was elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..." District Senator Party Notes1stS. Wentworth Horton Republican2ndJohn D. Bennett* Republican3rdWilliam S. Hults Jr.* Republican4thSeymour Halpern* Republican5thFrederic E. Hammer* Republican6thCharles T. Corey Republican7thIrwin Pakula Republican8thJames J. Crawford* Dem./Lib.9thRichard McCleery Republican10thKenneth Sherbell Am. Labor/Rep.11thFred G. Moritt* Dem./Am. Labor12thSamuel L. Greenberg* Dem./Am. Labor13thC. Corey Mills Rep./Am. Labor14thJoseph E. Parisi*Rep./Am. Labor15thLouis L. Friedman* Democrat16thWilliam Rosenblatt* Democrat 17thRobert E. Johnson Republicanin August 1947, appointed as D.A. of Richmond Co.John M. Braisted Jr. Democraton November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy18thElmer F. Quinn* Dem./Am. LaborMinority Leader19thFrancis J. Mahoney* Dem./Am. labor20thMacNeil Mitchell* Republican21stHarold I. Panken Democrat22ndAlfred E. Santangelo Democrat 23rdAlexander A. Falk* Democratin May 1947, appointed to the New York Civil Service CommissionJoseph Zaretzki Democraton November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy24thSidney A. Fine* Democrat25thArthur Wachtel* Democrat26thIsidore Dollinger* Democraton November 2, 1948, elected to the 81st U.S. Congress27thPaul A. Fino* Republican28thCharles V. Scanlan Republican29thWilliam F. Condon* Republican30thJ. Raymond McGovern* Republican31stPliny W. Williamson* RepublicanChairman of Judiciary32ndThomas C. Desmond* RepublicanChairman of Affairs of Cities 33rdFrederic H. Bontecou* Republicanon May 9, 1947, tendered his resignation, effective June 1BONTECOU RESIGNS FROM STATE SENATE in The New York Times on May 10, 1947 (subscription required)Ernest I. Hatfield* Republicanon November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy34thArthur H. Wicks* RepublicanChairman of Finance35thPeter J. Dalessandro Democrat36thGilbert T. Seelye* Republican37thThomas F. Campbell* Republican38thBenjamin F. Feinberg* Republicanre-elected Temporary President39thRhoda Fox Graves* Republican40thFred A. Young* Republican41stRobert C. Groben Republican 42ndIsaac B. Mitchell* RepublicanChairman of Internal Affairs; resigned on June 12, 1947STATE SENATOR RESIGNS in The New York Times on June 13, 1947 (subscription required)Henry A. Wise Republicanon November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy43rdJohn H. Hughes Republican44thWalter W. Stokes* RepublicanChairman of Conservation45thFloyd E. Anderson* Republican46thChauncey B. Hammond* Republican47thHenry W. Griffith* Republican48thFred S. Hollowell* Republican49thAustin W. Erwin* Republican50thGeorge T. Manning Republican51stAllen J. Oliver* RepublicanChairman of Aviation52ndWilliam Bewley* Republican53rdWalter J. Mahoney* Republican54thEdmund P. Radwan* Republican55thCharles O. Burney Jr.* Republican56thGeorge H. Pierce* Republican Employees Clerk: William S. King Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold W. Cole State Assembly Assemblymen Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..." District Assemblymen Party Notes Albany1stD-Cady Herrick 2nd Democrat2ndGeorge W. Foy* Democrat3rdJohn McBain Republican AlleganyWilliam H. MacKenzie* Republican Bronx 1stPatrick J. Fogarty* Democraton October 28, 1947, appointed to the Domestic Relations CourtNEW JUDGES OF THE DOMESTIC RELATIONS COURT in The New York Times on October 29, 1947 (subscription required)Bernard C. McDonnell Democraton February 17, 1948, elected to fill vacancyFEB. 17 VOTE SEEN AS WALLACE TEST in The New York Times on January 15, 1948 (subscription required)2ndRichard M. Goldwater Democrat3rdEdward T. Galloway* Democrat4thA. Joseph Ribustello Republican5thJoseph A. Martinis Democrat6thJulius J. Gans* Democrat7thLouis Peck* Democrat8thLouis Bennett* Democrat9thElizabeth Hanniford Republican10thJohn J. DePasquale* Republican11thGladys E. Banks* Republican12thNathan A. Lashin* Democrat13thWilliam J. Drohan Republican Broome1stRichard H. Knauf* Republican2ndOrlo M. Brees* Republican CattaraugusLeo P. Noonan* Republican CayugaCharles A. Cusick Republican ChautauquaE. Herman Magnuson* Republican ChemungHarry J. Tifft* Republican ChenangoJanet Hill Gordon Republican ClintonJames A. FitzPatrick Republican ColumbiaWillard C. Drumm Republican CortlandHarold L. Creal* Republican DelawareElmer J. Kellam* Republican DutchessErnest I. Hatfield* Republicanon June 18, 1947, resigned to run for the State SenateRobert Watson Pomeroy Republicanon November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy Erie1stFrank A. Gugino* Republican2ndJustin C. Morgan* Republican3rdWilliam J. Butler* Republican4thGerald F. Sullivan Republican5thPhilip V. Baczkowski* Democrat6thGeorge F. Dannebrock* Republican7thJulius Volker* Republican8thJohn R. Pillion* Republican EssexL. Judson Morhouse* Republican FranklinWilliam L. Doige* Republican Fulton and HamiltonJoseph R. Younglove* Republican GeneseeJohn E. Johnson Republican GreeneWilliam E. Brady* Republican HerkimerLeo A. Lawrence* Republican JeffersonOrin S. Wilcox* Republican Kings1stMax M. Turshen* Democrat2ndJ. Sidney Levine* Democrat3rdMary A. Gillen* Democrat4thBernard Austin* Democrat5thSeymour Brener Republican 6thRobert J. Crews* RepublicanresignedJohn J. Ryan Democraton November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy7thLouis Kalish Democrat8thThomas A. Carney Republican9thFrank J. McMullen* Republican10thLewis W. Olliffe* Republican11thEugene F. Bannigan* Democrat12thFrank P. Davern Republican13thLawrence P. Murphy* Democrat14thHarry Gittleson* Democrat15thJohn Smolenski* Democrat16thFrank J. Pino* Democrat17thJohn J. Walsh* Democrat18thIrwin Steingut* DemocratMinority Leader19thPhilip J. Schupler* Democrat20thJohn E. Beck* Republican21stThomas A. Dwyer* Democrat22ndJoseph Soviero Republican23rdAlfred A. Lama* Democrat24thSamuel Kaplan Am. Labor LewisBenjamin H. Demo* Republican LivingstonJoseph W. Ward* Republican MadisonWheeler Milmoe* Republican Monroe1stJoseph W. Bentley Republican2ndAbraham Schulman* Republican3rdRaymond H. Combs Republican4thThomas F. Riley* Republican MontgomeryJohn F. Bennison* Republican Nassau1stFrank J. Becker* Republican2ndJoseph F. Carlino* Republican3rdGenesta M. Strong* Republican4thDavid S. Hill Jr.* Republican New York1stMaude E. Ten Eyck Republican2ndLouis DeSalvio* Democrat3rdOwen McGivern* Democrat4thLeonard Farbstein* Democrat5thIrwin D. Davidson* Democrat6thFrancis X. McGowan* Democrat7thHoward Henig Republican8thArchibald Douglas Jr.* Republican9thJohn R. Brook* Republican10thJohn P. Morrissey* Democrat11thWilliam E. Prince* Democrat12thWilliam T. Andrews* Democrat13thHarold A. Stevens Democrat14thHulan E. Jack* Democrat15thSamuel Roman Republican16thLouis A. Cioffi Democrat Niagara1stJacob E. Hollinger* Republican2ndErnest Curto* Republican Oneida1stHarlow E. Bacon* Republican2ndRichard R. Griffith Republican Onondaga1stSearles G. Shultz Republican2ndClellan S. Forsythe* Republican3rdLawrence M. Rulison* Republican OntarioHarry R. Marble* Republican Orange1stLee B. Mailler* RepublicanMajority LeaderMAILLER STANDS UP UNDER FIRE OF FOE in The New York Times on January 9, 1947 (subscription required)2ndWilson C. Van Duzer* Republican OrleansJohn S. Thompson* Republican OswegoHenry D. Coville* Republican OtsegoPaul L. Talbot* Republican PutnamD. Mallory Stephens* RepublicanChairman of Ways and Means Queens1stAlexander Del Giorno* Democrat2ndWilliam E. Clancy* Democrat3rdJoseph H. Brinster* Republican4thGeorge T. Clark Republican5thThomas F. Hurley* Republican6thMeyer Wilen Republican 7thGeorge Archinal* Republicanresigned on July 31, 1947, and was appointed as Deputy Chief Clerk of the Surrogate's Court of Queens CountyARCHINAL RESIGNS FROM ASSEMBLY in The Wave, of Rockaway Beach, Queens, on July 31, 1947George P. Stier Dem./A.L./Lib.on November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy8thSamuel Rabin* Republican9thFred W. Preller* Republican10thAngelo Graci* Republican11thSidney Paymer Republican12thHenry Schneider Jr. Republican RensselaerJohn S. Finch* Republican Richmond1stArthur T. Berge* Republican2ndEdmund P. Radigan* Republican RocklandRobert Walmsley* Republican St. LawrenceAllan P. Sill* Republican SaratogaJohn L. Ostrander* Republican SchenectadyOswald D. Heck* Republicanre-elected Speaker SchoharieArthur L. Parsons* Republican SchuylerJerry W. Black* Republican SenecaLawrence W. Van Cleef* Republican SteubenWilliam M. Stuart* Republican Suffolk1stEdmund R. Lupton* Republican2ndElisha T. Barrett* Republican SullivanJames G. Lyons* Democrat TiogaMyron D. Albro* Republican TompkinsStanley C. Shaw* Republican UlsterJohn F. Wadlin* Republican WarrenHarry A. Reoux* RepublicanChairman of Judiciary WashingtonHenry Neddo* Republican WayneMildred F. Taylor Republican Westchester1stMalcolm Wilson* Republican2ndFred A. Graber* Republican 3rdP. Raymond Sirignano* Republicanresigned to run for City Judge of Mount VernonHarold D. Toomey Republicanon November 4, 1947, elected to fill vacancy4thFrank S. McCullough* Republican5thChristopher H. Lawrence* Republican6thTheodore Hill Jr.* Republican WyomingHarold C. Ostertag* Republican YatesVernon W. Blodgett* Republican Employees Clerk: Ansley B. Borkowski Notes Sources Know Your Legislators in The State Employee (January 1947, Vol. 16, No. 1, pg. 16f and 23) Members of the New York Senate (1940s) at Political Graveyard Members of the New York Assembly (1940s) at Political Graveyard 166 State Legislature State Legislature New York State Legislature New York State Legislature