163rd New York State Legislature

The 163rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1941, to April 24, 1942, during the ninth and tenth years of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany.

163rd New York State Legislature
← 162nd 164th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1, 1941 – December 31, 1942
Senate
Members	51
President	Lt. Gov. Charles Poletti (D)
Temporary President	Joe R. Hanley (R)
Party control	Republican (30–21)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Oswald D. Heck (R)
Party control	Republican (87–62–1)
Sessions
1st January 8 – April 4, 1941 2nd January 7 – April 24, 1942

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1894, re-apportioned in 1917, and amended in 1937, 51 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 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 Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The American Labor Party endorsed the whole Democratic ticket, which included one Republican judge of the Court of Appeals. The Prohibition Party also nominated a ticket.

Elections

The New York state election, 1940, was held on November 5. All six statewide elective offices were carried by the nominees on the Democratic-American Labor fusion ticket. The approximate party strength at this election, as gathered from the results, was: Democrats 2,843,000; Republicans 2,837,000; American Labor 365,000; and Prohibition 5,000.

All three women legislators—State Senator Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur; and Assemblywomen Jane H. Todd (Rep.), of Tarrytown, and Edith C. Cheney (Rep.), of Corning—were re-elected.

The New York state election, 1941, was held on November 4. Two vacancies in the State Senate and two vacancies in the State Assembly were filled.

On March 10, 1942, Mary A. Gillen, the widow of Assemblyman Michael J. Gillen, was elected to the seat previously held by her husband.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 164th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1941;^[1] and adjourned at 2.30 a.m. on April 4.^[2]

Oswald D. Heck (Rep.) was re-elected Speaker.

Joe R. Hanley (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate.

On December 7, 1941, happened the Attack on Pearl Harbor, and the United States entered World War II. Subsequently, some legislators resigned their seats to join the armed forces, among them Robert F. Wagner, Jr., Phelps Phelps, Francis E. Dorn and Henry J. Latham.

The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 165th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1942;^[3] and adjourned on April 24.

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. Francis J. McCaffrey Jr and Charles O. Burney Jr changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Assemblymen Carmine J. Marasco and William Kirnan were elected to fill vacancies in the Senate.

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

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	George L. Thompson*	Republican	Chairman of Finance; died on September 1, 1941
	Perry B. Duryea Sr.	Republican	on November 4, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
2nd	Seymour Halpern	Republican
3rd	Peter T. Farrell*	Democrat
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld*	Democrat	on January 13, 1941, appointed to the NY Supreme Court
	Carmine J. Marasco	Democrat	on February 18, 1941, elected to fill vacancy^[4]
5th	John J. Howard*	Democrat	died on January 24, 1941
	William Kirnan	Democrat	on March 11, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
6th	Edward J. Coughlin*	Democrat
7th	Jacob J. Schwartzwald*	Democrat	on September 9, 1942, appointed to the NYC City Court
8th	Joseph A. Esquirol*	Democrat
9th	Daniel Gutman*	Democrat
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey*	Democrat
11th	James J. Crawford*	Democrat
12th	Elmer F. Quinn*	Democrat
13th	Phelps Phelps*	Democrat	on February 16, 1942, gave notice of his return to active duty in the U.S. Army^[5]
14th	William J. Murray*	Democrat
15th	John L. Buckley*	Democrat
16th	Francis J. McCaffrey, Jr.*	Democrat	on November 4, 1941, elected to the NYC Municipal Court
	Thomas G. Brennan	Democrat	on January 13, 1942, elected to fill vacancy;^[6] and took his seat on January 26^[7]
17th	Frederic R. Coudert, Jr.*	Republican
18th	Charles Muzzicato	Rep./Am. Labor	Chairman of Public Health
19th	Charles D. Perry*	Democrat
20th	Alexander A. Falk	Democrat
21st	Lazarus Joseph*	Democrat
22nd	Carl Pack*	Democrat
23rd	John J. Dunnigan*	Democrat	Minority Leader
24th	Robert E. Johnson	Republican
25th	Pliny W. Williamson*	Republican
26th	William F. Condon*	Republican
27th	Thomas C. Desmond*	Republican
28th	Allan A. Ryan, Jr.*	Republican
29th	Arthur H. Wicks*	Republican	Chairman of Civil Service; Chairman of Finance, from September 17, 1941^[8]
30th	Erastus Corning 2nd*	Democrat	resigned on August 1, 1941, to run for Mayor of Albany
	Julian B. Erway	Democrat	on November 4, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
31st	Clifford C. Hastings*	Republican	Chairman of Civil Service, from January 7, 1942^[9]
32nd	Gilbert T. Seelye*	Republican
33rd	Benjamin F. Feinberg*	Republican
34th	Rhoda Fox Graves*	Republican
35th	Fred A. Young*	Republican
36th	William H. Hampton*	Republican
37th	Isaac B. Mitchell*	Republican
38th	G. Frank Wallace	Republican
39th	Walter W. Stokes*	Rep./Am. Labor
40th	Roy M. Page*	Republican
41st	Chauncey B. Hammond*	Republican
42nd	Henry W. Griffith*	Republican
43rd	Earle S. Warner*	Republican
44th	Joe R. Hanley*	Republican	re-elected Temporary President
45th	Rodney B. Janes*	Republican
46th	Karl K. Bechtold*	Republican	resigned in April 1942, and joined the USNR^[10]
47th	William Bewley*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
48th	Walter J. Mahoney*	Republican
49th	Stephen J. Wojtkowiak*	Dem./Am. Labor
50th	Charles O. Burney, Jr.*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
51st	James W. Riley*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: William S. King
• Assistant Clerk: Fred J. Slater
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold W. Cole
• Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Henry Whitbeck
• Principal Doorkeeper: Lynn Corman
• Assistant Doorkeeper: Irving Hoag
• Stenographer: John K. Marshall

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	George W. Foy*	Democrat
	2nd	Mortimer A. Cullen	Democrat
	3rd	John McBain*	Rep./Am. Labor
Allegany		William H. MacKenzie*	Republican
Bronx	1st	Matthew J. H. McLaughlin*	Democrat
	2nd	Patrick J. Fogarty*	Democrat
	3rd	Arthur Wachtel*	Democrat
	4th	Isidore Dollinger*	Democrat
	5th	Julius J. Gans*	Democrat
	6th	Peter A. Quinn*	Democrat
	7th	Louis Bennett*	Democrat
	8th	John A. Devany, Jr.*	Democrat
Broome	1st	Floyd E. Anderson	Republican
	2nd	Orlo M. Brees	Republican
Cattaraugus		Leo P. Noonan	Republican
Cayuga		James H. Chase*	Republican
Chautauqua	1st	E. Herman Magnuson	Rep./Am. Labor
	2nd	Carl E. Darling*	Republican
Chemung		Harry J. Tifft*	Republican
Chenango		Irving M. Ives*	Republican	Majority Leader
Clinton		Leslie G. Ryan*	Republican
Columbia		Frederick A. Washburn*	Republican
Cortland		Harold L. Creal*	Republican
Delaware		William T. A. Webb*	Republican
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen*	Republican
	2nd	Emerson D. Fite*	Republican
Erie	1st	Frank A. Gugino*	Republican
	2nd	Harold B. Ehrlich*	Republican
	3rd	Fred Hammer	Dem./Am. Labor
	4th	Frank J. Caffery	Dem./Am. Labor	resigned on November 16, 1942, and went to war^[11]
	5th	Philip V. Baczkowski	Dem./Am. Labor
	6th	Jerome C. Kreinheder*	Republican
	7th	Justin C. Morgan	Republican
	8th	John R. Pillion	Republican
Essex		Sheldon F. Wickes*	Republican
Franklin		William L. Doige*	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		(Denton D. Lake)*	Republican	died on January 5, 1941, before the Legislature met
		Joseph R. Younglove	Republican	on February 18, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
Genesee		Herbert A. Rapp*	Republican
Greene		William E. Brady*	Republican
Herkimer		Leo A. Lawrence*	Republican
Jefferson		Russell Wright*	Republican
Kings	1st	Lewis W. Olliffe	Republican
	2nd	Leo F. Rayfiel*	Democrat
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen*	Democrat	died on February 1, 1942
		Mary A. Gillen	Dem./Rep.	on March 10, 1942, elected to fill vacancy
	4th	Bernard Austin*	Democrat
	5th	John R. Starkey	Dem./Am. Labor
	6th	Robert J. Crews*	Rep./Am. Labor
	7th	William Kirnan*	Democrat	resigned on January 31, 1941, to run for the State Senate
		John F. Furey	Democrat	on March 11, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
	8th	Charles J. Beckinella*	Democrat
	9th	Edgar F. Moran*	Democrat
	10th	Francis E. Dorn	Republican	resigned on April 1, 1942, and went to war^[12]
	11th	Eugene F. Bannigan	Democrat
	12th	James W. Feely*	Democrat
	13th	Ralph Schwartz*	Dem./Am. Labor
	14th	Harry Gittleson	Dem./Am. Labor
	15th	John Smolenski*	Dem./Am. Labor
	16th	Carmine J. Marasco*	Democrat	resigned on January 14, 1941, to run for the State Senate^[13]
		Louis L. Friedman	Democrat	on February 18, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
	17th	Fred G. Moritt*	Dem./Am. Labor
	18th	Irwin Steingut*	Dem./Am. Labor	Minority Leader
	19th	Max M. Turshen*	Democrat
	20th	Roy H. Rudd*	Democrat
	21st	Thomas A. Dwyer*	Democrat
	22nd	James A. Corcoran*	Democrat
	23rd	Robert Giordano*	Democrat
Lewis		Benjamin H. Demo	Republican
Livingston		James J. Wadsworth*	Republican	resigned on May 27, 1941^[14]
		Joseph W. Ward	Republican	on November 4, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
Madison		Wheeler Milmoe*	Republican
Monroe	1st	Frank J. Sellmayer, Jr.*	Republican
	2nd	Abraham Schulman*	Republican
	3rd	George T. Manning*	Republican
	4th	Nelson E. Owen, Jr.	Democrat
	5th	William B. Mann*	Republican
Montgomery		John F. Bennison	Republican
Nassau	1st	John D. Bennett*	Republican
	2nd	Norman F. Penny*	Republican
New York	1st	James J. Dooling*	Democrat
	2nd	Louis DeSalvio	Democrat
	3rd	Maurice E. Downing*	Democrat
	4th	Leonard Farbstein*	Democrat
	5th	Owen McGivern*	Democrat
	6th	Morris M. Mintz	Democrat
	7th	Irwin D. Davidson*	Democrat
	8th	Stephen J. Jarema*	Democrat
	9th	Ira H. Holley*	Democrat
	10th	MacNeil Mitchell*	Republican
	11th	Patrick H. Sullivan*	Democrat
	12th	Edmund J. Delany*	Democrat
	13th	James T. McNamara	Democrat
	14th	Warren J. McCarron	Democrat
	15th	Abbot Low Moffat*	Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
	16th	Robert F. Wagner, Jr.*	Dem./Am. Labor	resigned on January 13, 1942, and went to war
		John P. Morrissey	Dem./Am. Labor	on March 10, 1942, elected to fill vacancy^[15]
	17th	Hulan E. Jack	Democrat
	18th	Hamlet O. Catenaccio	Rep./Am. Labor
	19th	Daniel L. Burrows*	Democrat
	20th	Anthony Guida*	Democrat
	21st	William T. Andrews*	Democrat
	22nd	Daniel Flynn*	Democrat
	23rd	William J. A. Glancy*	Democrat
Niagara	1st	Jacob E. Hollinger	Republican
	2nd	Harry D. Suitor*	Republican
Oneida	1st	Frank A. Emma	Democrat
	2nd	William R. Williams*	Republican
	3rd	C. Dean Williams*	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Leo W. Breed*	Republican
	2nd	George B. Parsons*	Republican
	3rd	Frank J. Costello*	Republican
Ontario		Harry R. Marble*	Republican
Orange	1st	Lee B. Mailler*	Republican
	2nd	Charles N. Hammond*	Republican
Orleans		John S. Thompson*	Republican
Oswego		Ernest J. Lonis*	Republican
Otsego		Chester T. Backus*	Republican
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens*	Republican
Queens	1st	Mario J. Cariello*	Democrat	resigned on September 25, 1941, to run for Municipal Court
		Charles J. Dalzell	Democrat	on November 4, 1941, elected to fill vacancy
	2nd	George F. Torsney	Democrat	died on December 28, 1942
	3rd	John V. Downey*	Democrat
	4th	Henry J. Latham	Republican	in July 1942, joined the U.S. Navy^[16]
	5th	John H. Ferril*	Democrat
	6th	George Archinal	Republican
Rensselaer	1st	J. Eugene Zimmer	Am. Labor/Rep.
	2nd	Maurice Whitney*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation
Richmond	1st	Charles Bormann*	Democrat
	2nd	Albert V. Maniscalco*	Democrat
Rockland		Robert Doscher	Republican
St. Lawrence	1st	Grant F. Daniels*	Republican
	2nd	Allan P. Sill	Republican
Saratoga		Richard J. Sherman*	Republican
Schenectady	1st	Oswald D. Heck*	Republican	re-elected Speaker
	2nd	Harold Armstrong*	Republican
Schoharie		Arthur L. Parsons*	Republican
Schuyler		Dutton S. Peterson*	Republican
Seneca		Lawrence W. Van Cleef*	Republican
Steuben	1st	Edith C. Cheney*	Republican
	2nd	William M. Stuart*	Republican
Suffolk	1st	Edmund R. Lupton*	Republican
	2nd	Elisha T. Barrett*	Republican
Sullivan		James G. Lyons*	Democrat
Tioga		Myron D. Albro*	Republican
Tompkins		Stanley C. Shaw*	Republican
Ulster		John F. Wadlin	Republican
Warren		Harry A. Reoux*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
Washington		Henry Neddo	Republican
Wayne		Henry V. Wilson	Republican	previously a member from Ontario Co.
Westchester	1st	Christopher H. Lawrence*	Republican
	2nd	Theodore Hill, Jr.*	Republican
	3rd	James E. Owens*	Republican
	4th	Jane H. Todd*	Republican
	5th	Malcolm Wilson*	Republican
Wyoming		Harold C. Ostertag*	Republican
Yates		Fred S. Hollowell*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Ansley B. Borkowski
• Sergeant-at-Arms: Richard Schnor
• First Assistant Doorkeeper: Joseph G. Bates
• Second Assistant Doorkeeper: M. C. Mansolillo
• Stenographer: Walter F. Berry

Notes

1. LEHMAN DEMANDS FULLEST STATE AID IN "TOTAL DEFENSE" in The New York Times on January 9, 1941 (subscription required)
2. LEGISLATURE ENDS SESSION AT ALBANY in The New York Times on April 4, 1941 (subscription required)
3. LEHMAN PLEDGES STATE TAX SLASH, ASKS PRICE LIMITS in The New York Times on January 8, 1942 (subscription required)
4. C. J. MARASCO WINS STATE SENATE SEAT in The New York Times on February 19, 1941 (subscription required)
5. PHELPS PHELPS GOES TO ACTIVE ARMY DUTY in The New York Times on February 17, 1942 (subscription required)
6. NAMED STATE SENATOR in The New York Times on January 14, 1942 (subscription required)
7. Brennan Seated in Senate in The New York Times on January 27, 1942 (subscription required)
8. Wicks Heads Finance Committee in The New York Times on September 18, 1941 (subscription required)
9. HASTINGS MADE CHAIRMAN in The New York Times on January 8, 1942 (subscription required)
10. Bechtold—Fowler in The New York Times on August 30, 1942 (subscription required)
11. Assemblyman Caffery Enlists in The New York Times on November 17, 1942 (subscription required)
12. DORN LEAVES ASSEMBLY in The New York Times on April 2, 1942 (subscription required)
13. SEEKS KLEINFELD'S SEAT in The New York Times on January 15, 1941 (subscription required)
14. WADSWORTH QUITS SEAT IN ASSEMBLY in The New York Times on May 28, 1941 (subscription required)
15. ASSEMBLY POST WON BY TAMMANY LEADER in The New York Times on March 11, 1942 (subscription required)
16. Navy Takes Candidate of Queens Republicans in The New York Times on July 14, 1942 (subscription required)

Sources

• Your Representatives in the Legislature and in Congress; Legislature for 1941–1942 in The State Employee (November 1940, Vol. 9, No. 8, pg. 264f)
• Members of the New York Senate (1940s) at Political Graveyard
• Members of the New York Assembly (1940s) at Political Graveyard
• GOP LEGISLATORS RETAIN LEADERS in the Daily Sentinel, of Rome, on January 8, 1941