162nd New York State Legislature

New York state legislative session February 2025 October 2019 162nd January 1, 1939 December 31, 1940 Lt. Gov. Charles Poletti (D) Perley A. Pitcher (R), until February 20, 1939; Joe R. Hanley (R), from February 27, 1939 Oswald D. Heck (R) 51 150 Republican (27–24) Republican (85–64–1) 1st January 4 May 20, 1939 2nd June 23 July 10, 1939 3rd January 3 March 31, 1940 4th October 22, 1940 161st 163rd The 162nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1939, to October 22, 1940, during the seventh and eight years of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, 51 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts. 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 New York (nine districts), Kings (eight), Bronx (three), Erie (three), Monroe (two), Queens (two) and Westchester (two). The Assembly districts were made up of contiguous area, all within the same county. In November 1937, an amendment to the State Constitution to increase the term in office of the members of the New York State Assembly to two years, and of the statewide elected state officers (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General) to four years, was accepted. Thus, beginning at the state election in 1938, all members (senators and assemblymen) of the Legislature were elected to two-year terms. At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The American Labor Party, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party also nominated tickets. The Socialist Labor Party nominated an "Industrial Government" ticket. The Republicans also nominated an "Independent Progressive" ticket so that their nominee Thomas E. Dewey would appear in two columns on the ballot, like Gov. Lehman who was endorsed by the American Labor Party. In New York City, "City Fusion", "Progressive" and "Liberal" tickets were also nominated. Elections The 1938 New York state election was held on November 8. Governor Herbert H. Lehman was re-elected, and Charles Poletti was elected Lieutenant Governor, both Democrats endorsed by the American Labor Party. The other six statewide elective offices were also carried by the Democrats. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 2,303,000; Democrats 1,971,000; American Labor 420,000; Communists 106,000;The Communists did not nominate a candidate for Governor; this is the vote polled by Israel Amter who ran for U.S. Representative at-large. Socialists 25,000; Independent Progressives 24,000; and Industrial Government 3,500. Both woman legislators—State Senator Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, and Assemblywoman Jane H. Todd (Rep.), of Tarrytown—were re-elected. The 1939 New York state election was held on November 7. Two vacancies in the State Senate and six vacancies in the State Assembly were filled. Edith C. Cheney, the widow of Assemblyman Guy W. Cheney, was elected to the seat previously held by her husband. Sessions The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 162nd) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1939; and adjourned on May 20.$150,000,00 HOUSING VOTED AS LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS in The New York Times on May 21, 1939 (subscription required) Oswald D. Heck (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker. Perley A. Pitcher (Rep.) was elected Temporary President of the State Senate. Pitcher died on February 20, 1939. On February 27, 1939, Joe R. Hanley (Rep.) was elected Temporary President of the State Senate. The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on June 23, 1939;Lehman Asks Full Funds to Schools and Highways in The New York Times on June 24, 1939 (subscription required) and adjourned on July 10.ALBANY TO TAKE UP SCHOOLS CUT TODAY in The New York Times on July 10, 1939 (subscription required) This session was called because the New York Court of Appeals had declared the state budget, enacted during the regular session, as unconstitutional, and a new budget was required to be made. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 163rd) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1940; and adjourned at half past midnight on March 31.New Truce is Made in The New York Times on March 31, 1940 (subscription required) The Legislature met for another special session at the State Capitol in Albany on October 22, 1940; and adjourned after a session of four hours. This session was held to enact an extension of three hours to the voting time on the next election day, so that the polls would close at 9 p.m. instead of at 6 p.m.Legislature Adds 3 Hours to Voting in The New York Times on October 23, 1940 (subscription required) On November 16, the State Senate rejected, with a vote of 29 to 18, the removal from office of Kings County Judge George W. Martin.Martin is Cleared by Senate, 28 TO 19, in Removal Vote in The New York Times on November 17, 1939 (subscription required) State Senate Districts 30em 1st District: Nassau and Suffolk counties 2nd and 3rd District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan 21st, 22nd and 23rd District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx 24th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island), and Rockland County 25th District: Part of Westchester County 26th District: Cortlandt, Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, Ossining and part of Yonkers; in Westchester County 27th District: Orange and Sullivan counties 28th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties 29th District: Delaware, Greene and Ulster counties 30th District: Albany County 31st District: Rensselaer County 32nd District: Saratoga and Schenectady counties 33rd District: Clinton, Essex, Warren and Washington counties 34th District: Franklin and St. Lawrence counties 35th District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Lewis counties 36th District: Oneida County 37th District: Jefferson and Oswego counties 38th District: Onondaga County 39th District: Madison, Montgomery, Otsego and Schoharie counties 40th District: Broome, Chenango and Cortland counties 41st District: Chemung, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties 42nd District: Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne counties 43rd District: Ontario, Steuben and Yates counties 44th District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming 45th and 46th District: Monroe County 47th District: Niagara and Orleans counties 48th, 49th and 50th District: Erie County 51st District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties Members The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Peter H. Ruvolo, Phelps Phelps, Carl Pack, Fred A. Young and James W. Riley changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Assemblymen Daniel Gutman and Chauncey B. Hammond were elected to fill vacancies in the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..." District Senator Party Notes1stGeorge L. Thompson* RepublicanChairman of Finance2ndJoseph D. Nunan Jr.* Democrat3rdPeter T. Farrell* Democrat4thPhilip M. Kleinfeld* Dem./Am. Labor5thJohn J. Howard* Democrat6thEdward J. Coughlin* Democrat7thJacob J. Schwartzwald* Democrat8thJoseph A. Esquirol* Dem./Progr. 9thPeter H. Ruvolo* Dem./C.F./Progr.resigned on September 30, 1939SENATOR RUVOLO RESIGNS in The New York Times on October 1, 1939 (subscription required)Daniel Gutman Democraton November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy10thJeremiah F. Twomey* Democrat11thJames J. Crawford* Dem./Rep.12thElmer F. Quinn* Democrat13thPhelps Phelps* Democrat14thWilliam J. Murray* Dem./Progr.15thJohn L. Buckley* Dem./Lib.16thJohn J. McNaboe* Democrat17thFrederic R. Coudert Jr. Rep./City F.18thJohn T. McCall* Democrat19thCharles D. Perry Democrat20thA. Spencer Feld* Democrat21stLazarus Joseph* Dem./Lib.22ndCarl Pack* Dem./City F.23rdJohn J. Dunnigan* Dem./City F.Minority Leader24thRae L. Egbert* Democrat25thPliny W. Williamson* Republican26thWilliam F. Condon RepublicanChairman of Labor and Industry27thThomas C. Desmond* Republican28thAllan A. Ryan Jr. Republican29thArthur H. Wicks* Rep./Soc.30thErastus Corning 2nd* Democrat31stClifford C. Hastings* Republican32ndGilbert T. Seelye RepublicanChairman of Pensions33rdBenjamin F. Feinberg* RepublicanChairman of Judiciary34thRhoda Fox Graves* Rep./Am. Labor35thFred A. Young Republican36thWilliam H. Hampton* Republican 37thPerley A. Pitcher* Republicanelected Temporary President; died on February 20, 1939Isaac B. Mitchell Republicanelected on March 28, 1939, to fill vacancyDAIRYMAN IS ELECTED AS STATE SENATOR in The New York Times on March 29, 1939 (subscription required)38thWilliam C. Martin Republican39thWalter W. Stokes* Republican40thRoy M. Page* Republican 41stC. Tracey Stagg* Republicancommitted suicide on July 14, 1939Chauncey B. Hammond Republicanon November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy42ndHenry W. Griffith Republican43rdEarle S. Warner* Republican44thJoe R. Hanley* Republicanon February 27, 1939, elected Temporary President45thRodney B. Janes Republican46thKarl K. Bechtold RepublicanChairman of Civil Service47thWilliam Bewley Republican48thWalter J. Mahoney* Republican49thStephen J. Wojtkowiak* Dem./Am. Labor50thArthur L. Swartz Republicandied on May 14, 194051stJames W. Riley* RepublicanChairman of Penal Institutions Employees Clerk: William S. King Assistant Clerk: Fred J. Slater State Assembly Assemblymen Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..." District Assemblymen Party Notes Albany1stGeorge W. Foy* Democrat2ndJohn P. Hayes* Democrat3rdJohn McBain Republican AlleganyWilliam H. MacKenzie* Republican Bronx1stMatthew J. H. McLaughlin* Dem./City F.2ndPatrick J. Fogarty* Dem./Lib.3rdArthur Wachtel Dem./City F.4thIsidore Dollinger* Dem./City F.5thJulius J. Gans Dem./City F.6thPeter A. Quinn* Dem./City F.7thLouis Bennett Dem./City F.8thJohn A. Devany Jr.* Democrat Broome1stEdward F. Vincent* Republicandied on October 26, 19402ndEdward W. Walters Republican CattaraugusWilliam B. Kingsbury Republican CayugaJames H. Chase Republican Chautauqua1stLloyd J. Babcock* RepublicanChairman of Pensions2ndCarl E. Darling* Republican ChemungChauncey B. Hammond* RepublicanChairman of Penal Institutions; resigned on July 27, 1939Harry J. Tifft Republicanon November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy ChenangoIrving M. Ives* RepublicanMajority Leader ClintonLeslie G. Ryan Republican ColumbiaFrederick A. Washburn* RepublicanChairman of Labor and Industries CortlandHarold L. Creal Republican DelawareWilliam T. A. Webb* Republican Dutchess1stHoward N. Allen* Republican2ndEmerson D. Fite* RepublicanChairman of Civil Service Erie1stFrank A. Gugino* Republican2ndHarold B. Ehrlich* Rep./Am. Labor3rdWilliam J. Butler* Republican4thAnthony J. Canney* Democrat5thJoseph S. Kaszubowski Democrat6thJerome C. Kreinheder* Republican7thCharles O. Burney Jr.* Republican8thR. Foster Piper* Republican EssexSheldon F. Wickes Republican FranklinWilliam L. Doige Republican Fulton and HamiltonDenton D. Lake* RepublicanChairman of Aviation GeneseeHerbert A. Rapp* Republican GreenePaul Fromer* Republicanresigned on August 7, 1939William E. Brady Republicanon November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy HerkimerLeo A. Lawrence* Republican JeffersonRussell Wright* Rep./Am. Labor Kings1stCrawford W. Hawkins* Democrat2ndLeo F. Rayfiel Democrat3rdMichael J. Gillen* Democrat4thBernard Austin* Democrat5thCharles R. McConnell* Democrat6thRobert J. Crews* Rep./Am. Labor7thWilliam Kirnan* Democrat8thCharles J. Beckinella* Dem./City F.9thEdgar F. Moran* Democrat10thWilliam C. McCreery* Dem./City F.11thBernard J. Moran* Democrat12thJames W. Feely Democrat13thRalph Schwartz* Democrat14thAaron F. Goldstein Dem./Lib.15thJohn Smolenski* Democrat16thCarmine J. Marasco Democrat17thFred G. Moritt* Democrat18thIrwin Steingut* Dem./Am. L./Progr.Minority Leader19thMax M. Turshen* Democrat20thRoy H. Rudd* Dem./Rep./Progr. 21stCharles H. Breitbart* Democratresigned on October 7, 1939, to run for Municipal CourtThomas A. Dwyer Democraton November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy 22ndDaniel Gutman Dem./C. F./Progr.resigned on October 4, 1939, to run for the State SenateJames A. Corcoran Democraton November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy23rdRobert Giordano Dem./City F. LewisBenjamin H. Demo Republican LivingstonJames J. Wadsworth* Republican MadisonWheeler Milmoe* Republican Monroe1stFrank J. Sellmayer Jr.* Republican2ndAbraham Schulman* Republican3rdGeorge T. Manning Republican4thPat E. Provenzano* Republican 5thWalter H. Wickins* Republicanresigned on October 2, 1939William B. Mann Republicanon November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy MontgomeryL. James Shaver* Republican Nassau1stJohn D. Bennett* Republican2ndNorman F. Penny Republican New York1stJames J. Dooling* Democrat2ndLouis J. Capozzoli Democraton November 5, 1940, elected to the 77th U.S. Congress3rdMaurice E. Downing Democrat4thLeonard Farbstein* Dem./Progr./Lib.5thOwen McGivern Democrat6thMeyer Goldberg* Rep./Am. Labor7thIrwin D. Davidson Democrat8thStephen J. Jarema* Democrat9thIra H. Holley* Dem./City F.10thMacNeil Mitchell* Republican11thPatrick H. Sullivan* Democrat12thEdmund J. Delany* Democrat13thWilliam J. Sheldrick* Democrat14thFrancis J. McCaffrey Jr.* Dem./C. F./Progr.15thAbbot Low Moffat* Rep./City F.Chairman of Ways and Means16thRobert F. Wagner Jr.* Dem./Am. Labor17thOscar Garcia Rivera* Am. LaborGarcia-Rivera had been elected as a Republican with American Labor endorsement in 1937. In 1938, the Republicans refused to renominate him, and he was re-elected on the American Labor ticket only; see REPUBLICANS DROP AN ASSEMBLYMAN in The New York Times on June 30, 1938 (subscription required)18thJoseph A. Boccia Rep./Am. Labor19thDaniel L. Burrows Dem./City F.20thAnthony Guida Dem./Am. L./C. F.21stWilliam T. Andrews* Dem./Am. Labor22ndDaniel Flynn* Democrat23rdWilliam J. A. Glancy* Democrat Niagara1stFayette E. Pease* Republican2ndHarry D. Suitor* Republican Oneida1stJohn J. Walsh* Dem./Am. Labor2ndWilliam R. Williams* Republican3rdC. Dean Williams* Republican Onondaga1stLeo W. Breed* Republican2ndGeorge B. Parsons* Republican3rdFrank J. Costello* Republican OntarioHarry R. Marble* Republican Orange1stLee B. Mailler* Republican2ndCharles N. Hammond* Republican OrleansJohn S. Thompson* Republican OswegoErnest J. Lonis* Republican OtsegoChester T. Backus* Republican PutnamD. Mallory Stephens* Republican Queens1stMario J. Cariello* Democrat2ndGeorge F. Torsney Democrat3rdJohn V. Downey* Democrat4thDaniel E. Fitzpatrick* Democrat5thJohn H. Ferril Democrat6thJoseph P. Teagle* Democrat Rensselaer1stPhilip J. Casey* Democrat2ndMaurice Whitney* Republican Richmond1stCharles Bormann* Democrat2ndAlbert V. Maniscalco Democrat RocklandLawrence J. Murray Jr.* Democratseat vacated on April 4, 1940, when convicted for embezzlement,MURRAY CONVICTED IN THEFT OF $49,102 in The New York Times on April 5, 1940 (subscription required) sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prisonMURRAY IS SENTENCED TO 5 TO 10 YEAR TERM in The New York Times on April 6, 1940 (subscription required) St. Lawrence1stGrant F. Daniels Republican2ndWarren O. Daniels* Republican SaratogaRichard J. Sherman* Republican Schenectady1stOswald D. Heck* Republicanre-elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules2ndHarold Armstrong* Republican SchoharieArthur L. Parsons* Republican SchuylerDutton Peterson* Republican SenecaLawrence W. Van Cleef* Republican Steuben 1stGuy W. Cheney* Republicandied on April 18, 1939Edith C. Cheney Rep./Am. Laboron November 7, 1939, elected to fill vacancy2ndWilliam M. Stuart* Republican Suffolk1stEdmund R. Lupton* Republican2ndElisha T. Barrett* Republican SullivanJames G. Lyons Democrat TiogaMyron D. Albro* Republican TompkinsStanley C. Shaw* Republican UlsterJ. Edward Conway* Republican WarrenHarry A. Reoux* RepublicanChairman of Judiciary WashingtonHerbert A. Bartholomew* Republican WayneHarry L. Averill* Republican Westchester1stChristopher H. Lawrence* Republican2ndTheodore Hill Jr.* Republican3rdJames E. Owens* Republican4thJane H. Todd* Republican5thMalcolm Wilson Republican WyomingHarold C. Ostertag* RepublicanChairman of Affairs of Villages YatesFred S. Hollowell* Republican Employees Clerk: Ansley B. Borkowski Notes Sources N.Y. State Legislature—1939–40 in The State Employee (November 1938, Vol. 7, No. 8, pg. 14 and 16) Members of the New York Senate (1930s) at Political Graveyard Members of the New York Assembly (1930s) at Political Graveyard Standing Committees of Legislature in The State Employee (February 1939, Vol. 8, No. 2, pg. 34) 162 State Legislature State Legislature New York State Legislature New York State Legislature