151st New York State Legislature

The 151st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to March 22, 1928, during the sixth year of Al Smith's second tenure as Governor of New York, in Albany.

151st New York State Legislature
← 150th 152nd →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1928
Senate
Members	51
President	Lt. Gov. Edwin Corning (D)
Temporary President	John Knight (R)
Party control	Republican (27–24)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Joseph A. McGinnies (R)
Party control	Republican (88–62)
Sessions
1st January 4 – March 22, 1928

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; senators for a two-year term, assemblymen for a one-year term. 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.

At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Socialist Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1927, was held on November 8. The only statewide elective office up for election was a judgeship on the New York Court of Appeals which was carried by the incumbent Democrat John F. O'Brien who was nominated by the Democrats and endorsed by the Republicans.

Assemblywoman Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur, a former school teacher who after her marriage became active in women's organisations and politics, was re-elected, and remained the only woman legislator.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1928; and adjourned on March 22.^[1]

Joseph A. McGinnies (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker.

State Senate

Districts

• 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.

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	George L. Thompson*	Republican	Chairman of Conservation
2nd	Stephen F. Burkard*	Democrat
3rd	Alfred J. Kennedy*	Democrat
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld*	Democrat
5th	Daniel F. Farrell*	Democrat
6th	Marcellus H. Evans*	Democrat
7th	John A. Hastings*	Democrat
8th	William L. Love*	Democrat
9th	Charles E. Russell*	Democrat
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey*	Democrat
11th	Louis J. Jacobson	Democrat	elected to fill vacancy. in place of Daniel J. Carroll
12th	Elmer F. Quinn*	Democrat
13th	Thomas F. Burchill*	Democrat
14th	Bernard Downing*	Democrat	Minority Leader
15th	John L. Buckley*	Democrat
16th	Thomas I. Sheridan*	Democrat
17th	Abraham Greenberg*	Democrat	unsuccessfully contested by Courtlandt Nicoll (R)^[2]
18th	Martin J. Kennedy*	Democrat
19th	Duncan T. O'Brien*	Democrat
20th	A. Spencer Feld*	Democrat
21st	Henry G. Schackno*	Democrat
22nd	Benjamin Antin*	Democrat
23rd	John J. Dunnigan*	Democrat
24th	Thomas J. Walsh*	Democrat
25th	Walter W. Westall*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
26th	Seabury C. Mastick*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
27th	Caleb H. Baumes*	Republican	Chairman of Codes
28th	J. Griswold Webb*	Republican	Chairman of Public Health
29th	Arthur H. Wicks*	Republican	Chairman of Revision
30th	William T. Byrne*	Democrat
31st	John F. Williams*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
32nd	Thomas C. Brown*	Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
33rd	Henry E. H. Brereton*	Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
34th	Warren T. Thayer*	Republican	Chairman of Public Service
35th	Jeremiah Keck*	Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
36th	Henry D. Williams*	Republican	Chairman of Military Affairs; Chairman of Privileges and Elections
37th	Perley A. Pitcher*	Republican	Chairman of Civil Service; Chairman of Re-Organization of State Government
38th	George R. Fearon*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
39th	John W. Gates*	Republican
40th	B. Roger Wales*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
41st	James S. Truman*	Republican	Chairman of Labor and Industry
42nd	Charles J. Hewitt*	Republican	Chairman of Finance
43rd	Leon F. Wheatley*	Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
44th	John Knight*	Republican	Temporary President; Chairman of Rules
45th	James L. Whitley*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities; on November 6, 1928, elected to the 71st U.S. Congress
46th	Homer E. A. Dick*	Republican	Chairman of Public Education
47th	William W. Campbell*	Republican	Chairman of Banks; Chairman of Re-Apportionment
48th	William J. Hickey*	Republican	Chairman of General Laws
49th	Leonard R. Lipowicz*	Republican	Chairman of Pensions
50th	Charles A. Freiberg*	Republican	Chairman of Canals
51st	Leigh G. Kirkland*	Rep./Soc.	Chairman of Agriculture

Employees

• Clerk: Ernest A. Fay
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Charles R. Hotaling

State Assembly

Assemblymen

Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	George B. Lidzy	Democrat
	2nd	John P. Hayes*	Democrat
	3rd	Rudolph I. Roulier*	Democrat
Allegany		Cassius Congdon*	Republican
Bronx	1st	Nicholas J. Eberhard*	Democrat
	2nd	William F. Smith*	Democrat
	3rd	Julius S. Berg*	Democrat
	4th	Herman M. Albert*	Democrat
	5th	Harry A. Samberg*	Democrat
	6th	Christopher C. McGrath	Democrat
	7th	John F. Reidy*	Democrat
	8th	Joseph E. Kinsley*	Democrat
Broome	1st	Edmund B. Jenks*	Republican
	2nd	Forman E. Whitcomb*	Republican
Cattaraugus		James W. Watson*	Republican
Cayuga		Chauncey D. Van Alstine	Republican
Chautauqua	1st	Hubert E. V. Porter	Republican
	2nd	Joseph A. McGinnies*	Republican	re-elected Speaker
Chemung		G. Archie Turner*	Republican
Chenango		Bert Lord*	Republican
Clinton		Charles D. Munsil	Republican
Columbia		Henry M. James*	Republican
Cortland		Irving F. Rice*	Republican
Delaware		Ralph H. Loomis*	Republican
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen*	Republican
	2nd	John M. Hackett*	Republican
Erie	1st	Charles J. Gimbrone	Republican
	2nd	Henry W. Hutt*	Republican
	3rd	Frank X. Bernhardt*	Republican
	4th	William J. Gleason	Republican
	5th	Ansley B. Borkowski*	Republican
	6th	Howard W. Dickey*	Republican
	7th	Edmund F. Cooke*	Republican	on November 6, 1928, elected to the 71st U.S. Congress
	8th	Nelson W. Cheney*	Republican
Essex		Fred L. Porter*	Republican
Franklin		John E. Redwood*	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Eberly Hutchinson*	Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
Genesee		Charles P. Miller*	Republican
Greene		Ellis W. Bentley*	Republican
Herkimer		Theodore L. Rogers*	Republican
Jefferson		Jasper W. Cornaire	Republican
Kings	1st	Charles F. Cline*	Democrat
	2nd	Murray Hearn*	Democrat
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen*	Democrat
	4th	George E. Dennen*	Democrat
	5th	John J. Cooney*	Democrat
	6th	Jacob J. Schwartzwald*	Democrat
	7th	John J. Howard*	Democrat
	8th	Robert E. Sweeney	Democrat
	9th	Richard J. Tonry*	Democrat
	10th	William C. McCreery*	Democrat
	11th	Edward J. Coughlin*	Democrat
	12th	Edward S. Moran Jr.*	Democrat
	13th	William Breitenbach*	Democrat
	14th	Jacob P. Nathanson*	Democrat
	15th	Edward P. Doyle*	Democrat
	16th	Maurice Z. Bungard*	Democrat
	17th	Robert K. Story Jr.	Republican
	18th	Irwin Steingut*	Democrat
	19th	Jerome G. Ambro*	Democrat
	20th	Frank A. Miller*	Democrat
	21st	Joseph A. Esquirol	Democrat
	22nd	Jacob H. Livingston*	Democrat
	23rd	Albert M. Cohen	Democrat
Lewis		Clarence L. Fisher*	Republican
Livingston		A. Grant Stockweather*	Republican
Madison		Arthur A. Hartshorn	Republican
Monroe	1st	Arthur T. Pammenter*	Republican
	2nd	Harry J. McKay*	Republican
	3rd	Cosmo A. Cilano*	Republican
	4th	Fred J. Slater*	Republican
	5th	W. Ray Austin*	Republican
Montgomery		Rufus Richtmyer*	Republican
Nassau	1st	Edwin W. Wallace*	Republican
	2nd	Leonard W. Hall*	Republican	on November 6, 1928, elected Sheriff of Nassau Co.
New York	1st	Peter J. Hamill*	Democrat
	2nd	Frank R. Galgano*	Democrat
	3rd	Sylvester A. Dineen*	Democrat
	4th	Samuel Mandelbaum*	Democrat
	5th	Frank A. Carlin*	Democrat
	6th	Louis J. Lefkowitz	Republican
	7th	Saul S. Streit*	Democrat
	8th	Henry O. Kahan*	Democrat
	9th	John H. Conroy*	Democrat
	10th	Phelps Phelps*	Republican
	11th	Maurice F. Cantor*	Democrat
	12th	John A. Byrnes*	Democrat
	13th	John P. Nugent*	Democrat
	14th	Joseph T. Higgins	Democrat
	15th	Samuel H. Hofstadter*	Republican
	16th	Maurice Bloch*	Democrat	Minority Leader
	17th	Meyer Alterman*	Democrat
	18th	Vincent H. Auleta*	Democrat
	19th	Abraham Grenthal*	Republican
	20th	Louis A. Cuvillier*	Democrat
	21st	Albert Grossman*	Democrat
	22nd	Joseph A. Gavagan*	Democrat
	23rd	Alexander A. Falk*	Democrat
Niagara	1st	William Bewley*	Republican
	2nd	Frank S. Hall*	Republican	died on September 5, 1928^[3]
Oneida	1st	Gordon C. Ferguson	Republican
	2nd	Russell G. Dunmore*	Republican	Majority Leader
	3rd	George J. Skinner*	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Horace M. Stone*	Republican
	2nd	Willis H. Sargent*	Republican
	3rd	Richard B. Smith*	Republican
Ontario		Robert A. Catchpole*	Republican
Orange	1st	DeWitt C. Dominick*	Republican
	2nd	Alexander G. Hall*	Republican
Orleans		Frank H. Lattin*	Republican
Oswego		Victor C. Lewis*	Republican
Otsego		Frank M. Smith*	Republican
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens*	Republican
Queens	1st	Carl Deutschmann*	Democrat
	2nd	Frank B. Hendel*	Democrat
	3rd	Charles W. Posthauer*	Democrat
	4th	Jere F. Ryan*	Democrat
	5th	William F. Brunner*	Democrat	on November 6, 1928, elected to the 71st U.S. Congress
	6th	Paul P. Gallagher*	Democrat
Rensselaer	1st	Michael F. Breen*	Democrat
	2nd	Maurice Whitney*	Republican
Richmond	1st	Francis A. Hannigan	Democrat
	2nd	William L. Vaughan*	Democrat
Rockland		Walter S. Gedney*	Republican
St. Lawrence	1st	Rhoda Fox Graves*	Republican
	2nd	Walter L. Pratt*	Republican
Saratoga		Burton D. Esmond*	Republican
Schenectady	1st	Charles W. Merriam*	Republican
	2nd	William M. Nicoll*	Republican
Schoharie		Kenneth H. Fake*	Republican
Schuyler		James A. Shepard	Republican
Seneca		William H. Van Cleef*	Republican
Steuben	1st	Wilson Messer*	Republican
	2nd	Webster Edmunds*	Republican
Suffolk	1st	John G. Downs*	Republican
	2nd	John Boyle Jr.*	Republican
Sullivan		Guernsey T. Cross	Democrat
Tioga		Daniel P. Witter*	Republican
Tompkins		James R. Robinson*	Republican
Ulster		Millard Davis*	Republican
Warren		Paul L. Boyce	Republican
Washington		Herbert A. Bartholomew*	Republican
Wayne		Harry A. Tellier*	Republican
Westchester	1st	William C. Olsen*	Republican
	2nd	Herbert B. Shonk*	Republican	Chairman of Aviation
	3rd	Milan E. Goodrich*	Republican
	4th	Alexander H. Garnjost*	Republican
	5th	William F. Condon	Republican
Wyoming		Joe R. Hanley*	Republican
Yates		Edwin C. Nutt*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Fred W. Hammond

References

1. LEGISLATURE ENDS WITH A SLAUGHTER OF SMITH'S BILLS in The New York Times on March 23, 1928 (subscription required)
2. GREENBERG'S RIGHT TO SEAT CONFIRMED in The New York Times on February 16, 1928 (subscription required)
3. "Frank S. Hall, Aged Member of Assembly, Is Called By Death" (PDF). Niagara Falls Gazette. Vol. XXXV, no. 146. Niagara Falls, N.Y. September 6, 1928. p. 1 – via Fultonhistory.com.

Sources

• Members of the New York Senate (1920s) at Political Graveyard
• Members of the New York Assembly (1920s) at Political Graveyard
• ASSEMBLY CREATES AIR COMMITTEE in The New York Times on January 10, 1928 (subscription required)