# 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.

## 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 1940 New York state election 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 1941 New York state election 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; and adjourned at 2.30 a.m. on April 4.
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; 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 |
| 1st | 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 |
| 4th | Carmine J. Marasco | Democrat | on February 18, 1941, elected to fill vacancy |
| 5th | John J. Howard* | Democrat | died on January 24, 1941 |
| 5th | 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 |
| 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 |
| 16th | Thomas G. Brennan | Democrat | on January 13, 1942, elected to fill vacancy; and took his seat on January 26 |
| 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 |
| 30th | Erastus Corning 2nd* | Democrat | resigned on August 1, 1941, to run for Mayor of Albany |
| 30th | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | District | Assemblymen | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | George W. Foy* | Democrat | |
| Albany | 2nd | Mortimer A. Cullen | Democrat | |
| Albany | 3rd | John McBain* | Rep./Am. Labor | |
| Allegany | Allegany | William H. MacKenzie* | Republican | |
| Bronx | 1st | Matthew J. H. McLaughlin* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 2nd | Patrick J. Fogarty* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 3rd | Arthur Wachtel* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 4th | Isidore Dollinger* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 5th | Julius J. Gans* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 6th | Peter A. Quinn* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 7th | Louis Bennett* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 8th | John A. Devany Jr.* | Democrat | |
| Broome | 1st | Floyd E. Anderson | Republican | |
| Broome | 2nd | Orlo M. Brees | Republican | |
| Cattaraugus | Cattaraugus | Leo P. Noonan | Republican | |
| Cayuga | Cayuga | James H. Chase* | Republican | |
| Chautauqua | 1st | E. Herman Magnuson | Rep./Am. Labor | |
| Chautauqua | 2nd | Carl E. Darling* | Republican | |
| Chemung | Chemung | Harry J. Tifft* | Republican | |
| Chenango | Chenango | Irving M. Ives* | Republican | Majority Leader |
| Clinton | Clinton | Leslie G. Ryan* | Republican | |
| Columbia | Columbia | Frederick A. Washburn* | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | Harold L. Creal* | Republican | |
| Delaware | Delaware | William T. A. Webb* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 1st | Howard N. Allen* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | 2nd | Emerson D. Fite* | Republican | |
| Erie | 1st | Frank A. Gugino* | Republican | |
| Erie | 2nd | Harold B. Ehrlich* | Republican | |
| Erie | 3rd | Fred Hammer | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Erie | 4th | Frank J. Caffery | Dem./Am. Labor | resigned on November 16, 1942, and went to war |
| Erie | 5th | Philip V. Baczkowski | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Erie | 6th | Jerome C. Kreinheder* | Republican | |
| Erie | 7th | Justin C. Morgan | Republican | |
| Erie | 8th | John R. Pillion | Republican | |
| Essex | Essex | Sheldon F. Wickes* | Republican | |
| Franklin | Franklin | William L. Doige* | Republican | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | (Denton D. Lake)* | Republican | died on January 5, 1941, before the Legislature met |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | Joseph R. Younglove | Republican | on February 18, 1941, elected to fill vacancy |
| Genesee | Genesee | Herbert A. Rapp* | Republican | |
| Greene | Greene | William E. Brady* | Republican | |
| Herkimer | Herkimer | Leo A. Lawrence* | Republican | |
| Jefferson | Jefferson | Russell Wright* | Republican | |
| Kings | 1st | Lewis W. Olliffe | Republican | |
| Kings | 2nd | Leo F. Rayfiel* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | Michael J. Gillen* | Democrat | died on February 1, 1942 |
| Kings | 3rd | Mary A. Gillen | Dem./Rep. | on March 10, 1942, elected to fill vacancy |
| Kings | 4th | Bernard Austin* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 5th | John R. Starkey | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Kings | 6th | Robert J. Crews* | Rep./Am. Labor | |
| Kings | 7th | William Kirnan* | Democrat | resigned on January 31, 1941, to run for the State Senate |
| Kings | 7th | John F. Furey | Democrat | on March 11, 1941, elected to fill vacancy |
| Kings | 8th | Charles J. Beckinella* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 9th | Edgar F. Moran* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 10th | Francis E. Dorn | Republican | resigned on April 1, 1942, and went to war |
| Kings | 11th | Eugene F. Bannigan | Democrat | |
| Kings | 12th | James W. Feely* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 13th | Ralph Schwartz* | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Kings | 14th | Harry Gittleson | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Kings | 15th | John Smolenski* | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Kings | 16th | Carmine J. Marasco* | Democrat | resigned on January 14, 1941, to run for the State Senate |
| Kings | 16th | Louis L. Friedman | Democrat | on February 18, 1941, elected to fill vacancy |
| Kings | 17th | Fred G. Moritt* | Dem./Am. Labor | |
| Kings | 18th | Irwin Steingut* | Dem./Am. Labor | Minority Leader |
| Kings | 19th | Max M. Turshen* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 20th | Roy H. Rudd* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 21st | Thomas A. Dwyer* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 22nd | James A. Corcoran* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 23rd | Robert Giordano* | Democrat | |
| Lewis | Lewis | Benjamin H. Demo | Republican | |
| Livingston | Livingston | James J. Wadsworth* | Republican | resigned on May 27, 1941 |
| Livingston | Livingston | Joseph W. Ward | Republican | on November 4, 1941, elected to fill vacancy |
| Madison | Madison | Wheeler Milmoe* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 1st | Frank J. Sellmayer Jr.* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 2nd | Abraham Schulman* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 3rd | George T. Manning* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 4th | Nelson E. Owen Jr. | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 5th | William B. Mann* | Republican | |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | John F. Bennison | Republican | |
| Nassau | 1st | John D. Bennett* | Republican | |
| Nassau | 2nd | Norman F. Penny* | Republican | |
| New York | 1st | James J. Dooling* | Democrat | |
| New York | 2nd | Louis DeSalvio | Democrat | |
| New York | 3rd | Maurice E. Downing* | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | Leonard Farbstein* | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Owen McGivern* | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Morris M. Mintz | Democrat | |
| New York | 7th | Irwin D. Davidson* | Democrat | |
| New York | 8th | Stephen J. Jarema* | Democrat | |
| New York | 9th | Ira H. Holley* | Democrat | |
| New York | 10th | MacNeil Mitchell* | Republican | |
| New York | 11th | Patrick H. Sullivan* | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | Edmund J. Delany* | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | James T. McNamara | Democrat | |
| New York | 14th | Warren J. McCarron | Democrat | |
| New York | 15th | Abbot Low Moffat* | Republican | Chairman of Ways and Means |
| New York | 16th | Robert F. Wagner Jr.* | Dem./Am. Labor | resigned on January 13, 1942, and went to war |
| New York | 16th | John P. Morrissey | Dem./Am. Labor | on March 10, 1942, elected to fill vacancy |
| New York | 17th | Hulan E. Jack | Democrat | |
| New York | 18th | Hamlet O. Catenaccio | Rep./Am. Labor | |
| New York | 19th | Daniel L. Burrows* | Democrat | |
| New York | 20th | Anthony Guida* | Democrat | |
| New York | 21st | William T. Andrews* | Democrat | |
| New York | 22nd | Daniel Flynn* | Democrat | |
| New York | 23rd | William J. A. Glancy* | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 1st | Jacob E. Hollinger | Republican | |
| Niagara | 2nd | Harry D. Suitor* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 1st | Frank A. Emma | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 2nd | William R. Williams* | Republican | |
| Oneida | 3rd | C. Dean Williams* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 1st | Leo W. Breed* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | George B. Parsons* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Frank J. Costello* | Republican | |
| Ontario | Ontario | Harry R. Marble* | Republican | |
| Orange | 1st | Lee B. Mailler* | Republican | |
| Orange | 2nd | Charles N. Hammond* | Republican | |
| Orleans | Orleans | John S. Thompson* | Republican | |
| Oswego | Oswego | Ernest J. Lonis* | Republican | |
| Otsego | Otsego | Chester T. Backus* | Republican | |
| Putnam | Putnam | D. Mallory Stephens* | Republican | |
| Queens | 1st | Mario J. Cariello* | Democrat | resigned on September 25, 1941, to run for Municipal Court |
| Queens | 1st | Charles J. Dalzell | Democrat | on November 4, 1941, elected to fill vacancy |
| Queens | 2nd | George F. Torsney | Democrat | died on December 28, 1942 |
| Queens | 3rd | John V. Downey* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 4th | Henry J. Latham | Republican | in July 1942, joined the U.S. Navy |
| Queens | 5th | John H. Ferril* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 6th | George Archinal | Republican | |
| Rensselaer | 1st | J. Eugene Zimmer | Am. Labor/Rep. | |
| Rensselaer | 2nd | Maurice Whitney* | Republican | Chairman of Taxation |
| Richmond | 1st | Charles Bormann* | Democrat | |
| Richmond | 2nd | Albert V. Maniscalco* | Democrat | |
| Rockland | Rockland | Robert Doscher | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 1st | Grant F. Daniels* | Republican | |
| St. Lawrence | 2nd | Allan P. Sill | Republican | |
| Saratoga | Saratoga | Richard J. Sherman* | Republican | |
| Schenectady | 1st | Oswald D. Heck* | Republican | re-elected Speaker |
| Schenectady | 2nd | Harold Armstrong* | Republican | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | Arthur L. Parsons* | Republican | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | Dutton S. Peterson* | Republican | |
| Seneca | Seneca | Lawrence W. Van Cleef* | Republican | |
| Steuben | 1st | Edith C. Cheney* | Republican | |
| Steuben | 2nd | William M. Stuart* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 1st | Edmund R. Lupton* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 2nd | Elisha T. Barrett* | Republican | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | James G. Lyons* | Democrat | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Myron D. Albro* | Republican | |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | Stanley C. Shaw* | Republican | |
| Ulster | Ulster | John F. Wadlin | Republican | |
| Warren | Warren | Harry A. Reoux* | Republican | Chairman of Judiciary |
| Washington | Washington | Henry Neddo | Republican | |
| Wayne | Wayne | Henry V. Wilson | Republican | previously a member from Ontario Co. |
| Westchester | 1st | Christopher H. Lawrence* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Theodore Hill Jr.* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 3rd | James E. Owens* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 4th | Jane H. Todd* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 5th | Malcolm Wilson* | Republican | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Harold C. Ostertag* | Republican | |
| Yates | 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