# 175th New York State Legislature

The 175th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to June 23, 1965, during the seventh year of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany.

## Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1938, re-apportioned in 1953, 58 Senators and 150 assembly members 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), Queens (five), Bronx (four), Erie (three), Nassau (three), Westchester (three), Monroe (two) and Onondaga (two). The Assembly districts consisted either of a single entire county (except Hamilton Co.), or of contiguous area within one county.
In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down several decisions establishing that State legislatures should follow the One man, one vote rule to apportion their election districts. A special Federal Statutory Court declared the New York apportionment formulae for both the State Senate and the State Assembly unconstitutional, and the State Legislature was ordered to re-apportion the seats by April 1, 1965. The court also ruled that the 1964 legislative election should be held under the 1954 apportionment, but those elected could serve only for one year (in 1965), and an election under the new apportionment should be held in November 1965. Senators John H. Hughes and Lawrence M. Rulison (both Rep.) questioned the authority of the federal court to shorten the term of the 1964 electees, alleging excessive costs for the additional election in an off-year.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the Socialist Labor Party, and the Socialist Workers Party also nominated tickets. At the 1964 New York state election on November 3, Democratic majorities were elected to both the State Senate and the State Assembly for the session of 1965.
The lame-duck Legislature of 1964 met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany from December 15 to 31, 1964, to re-apportion the legislative districts for the election in November 1965, gerrymandering the districts according to the wishes of the Republican majority before the Democrats would take over the Legislature in January. The number of seats in the State Senate was increased to 65, and the number of seats in the Assembly to 165. County representation was abandoned in favor of population-proportional districts which could lie across county lines, and the new Assembly districts were numbered from 1 to 165.

## Elections

The 1964 New York state election, was held on November 3. The only statewide elective office up for election was a U.S. Senator from New York. Democrat Robert F. Kennedy defeated the Republican incumbent Kenneth B. Keating. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for U.S. Senator, was: Democrats 3,540,000; Republicans 3,104,000; Liberals 285,000; Conservatives 212,000; Socialist Labor 7,000; and Socialist Workers 4,000.
3 of the 4 women members of the previous legislature State Senator Constance Baker Motley, a lawyer of Manhattan; and Assembly Members Constance E. Cook (Republican), a lawyer of Ithaca, and Aileen B. Ryan (Democrat), a former school teacher of the Bronx—were re-elected. Shirley Chisholm (Democrat), a preschool teacher of Brooklyn; and Dorothy H. Rose (Democrat), a high-school teacher and librarian of Angola, were also elected to the Assembly.

## Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session (the 188th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 6, 1965; and adjourned on June 23.
Due to the split of the Democratic majorities in both Houses into followers of Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. and U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, neither House could be organized, and a month of deadlock ensued.
On February 1, the United States Supreme Court confirmed the Federal Statutory Court's order to elect a new New York Legislature in November 1965.
On February 3, Joseph Zaretzki (Dem.) was elected Temporary President of the State Senate with the votes of the Wagner Democrats and the Republicans.
On February 4, Anthony J. Travia (Dem.) was elected Speaker.
On April 14, the New York Court of Appeals declared the apportionment of December 1964 as unconstitutional, citing that the New York Constitution provides expressly that the Assembly shall have 150 seats, not 165 as were apportioned. The court also held that, although the constitutional State Senate apportionment formula provides for additional seats, the increase from 58 to 65 was unwarranted.
On May 10, the Federal Statutory Court ordered that the election on November 2, 1965, be held under the December 1964 apportionment, and that the Legislature thus elected re-apportion the seats again by February 1, 1966.
On August 24, the Federal Statutory Court clarified that, if the Governor and Legislature should not have enacted a new apportionment by February 1, 1966, then the Court would draft a new apportionment for the next election.
On October 11, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed four appeals against the ruling of the Federal Statutory Court, and upheld the election of a new New York Legislature on November 2.

## State Senate
### Districts

* 1st District: Suffolk County
* 2nd, 3rd and 4th District: Parts of Nassau County
* 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th District: Parts of Queens County, i.e. the Borough of Queens
* 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th District: Parts of Kings County, i.e. the Borough of Brooklyn
* 19th District: Richmond County, i.e. the Borough of Richmond (now the Borough of Staten Island)
* 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th District: Parts of New York County, i.e. the Borough of Manhattan
* 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th District: Parts of Bronx County, i.e. the Borough of the Bronx
* 30th, 31st and 32nd District: Parts of Westchester County
* 33rd District: Orange and Rockland counties
* 34th District: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan and Ulster counties
* 35th District: Columbia, Dutchess and Putnam counties
* 36th District: Albany County
* 37th District: Rensselaer and Washington counties
* 38th District: Schenectady and Schoharie counties
* 39th District: Essex, Saratoga and Warren counties
* 40th District: Clinton, Franklin and St. Lawrence counties
* 41st District: Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer and Montgomery counties
* 42nd District: Oneida County
* 43rd District: Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego
* 44th and 45th District: Parts of Onondaga County
* 46th District: Chenango, Cortland, Madison and Otsego counties
* 47th District: Broome County
* 48th District: Cayuga, Tioga and Tompkins counties
* 49th District: Chemung and Steuben counties
* 50th District: Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Wayne and Yates counties
* 51st and 52nd District: Parts of Monroe County
* 53rd District: Allegany, Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties
* 54th District: Niagara County
* 55th, 56th and 57th District: Parts of Erie County
* 58th District: Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties

### Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Bernard G. Gordon, Robert Watson Pomeroy, William S. Calli and Kenneth R. Willard changed from the Assembly to the Senate.
Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."
| District | Senator | Party | Notes |
| 1st | Elisha T. Barrett* | Republican | |
| 2nd | Norman F. Lent | Republican | |
| 3rd | Henry M. Curran* | Republican | |
| 4th | Edward J. Speno* | Republican | |
| 5th | Jack E. Bronston* | Democrat | Chairman of Affairs of Cities |
| 6th | Irving Mosberg* | Democrat | Chairman of General Laws |
| 7th | Seymour R. Thaler* | Democrat | Chairman of Public Health |
| 8th | Thomas A. Duffy* | Democrat | Chairman of Codes |
| 9th | Thomas J. Mackell* | Democrat | Chairman of Affairs of the City of New York |
| 10th | Simon J. Liebowitz* | Democrat | Chairman of Motor Vehicles |
| 11th | William C. Thompson | Democrat | Chairman of National Defense |
| 12th | Jeremiah B. Bloom* | Democrat | Chairman of Banks |
| 13th | Guy James Mangano* | Democrat | Chairman of Corporations |
| 14th | William T. Conklin* | Republican | |
| 15th | Irwin Brownstein* | Democrat | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
| 16th | William Rosenblatt* | Democrat | Chairman of Judiciary |
| 17th | Samuel L. Greenberg* | Democrat | Chairman of Finance |
| 18th | Edward S. Lentol* | Democrat | Chairman of Civil Service |
| 19th | John J. Marchi* | Republican | |
| 20th | Frederic S. Berman | Democrat | |
| 21st | Constance Baker Motley* | Democrat | Chairwoman of Penal Institutions; on February 23, 1965, elected Borough President of Manhattan |
| 22nd | Jerome L. Wilson* | Democrat | Chairman of Public Welfare |
| 23rd | Joseph Zaretzki* | Democrat | elected Temporary President; Chairman of Rules |
| 24th | Paul P. E. Bookson | Democrat | Chairman of Agriculture |
| 25th | Manfred Ohrenstein* | Democrat | Chairman of Mental Hygiene |
| 26th | Harry Kraf* | Democrat | Chairman of Taxation |
| 27th | Ivan Warner* | Democrat | Chairman of Education |
| 28th | Abraham Bernstein* | Democrat | Chairman of Excise |
| 29th | Joseph E. Marine* | Democrat | Chairman of Public Service |
| 30th | Max Berking | Democrat | |
| 31st | Bernard G. Gordon* | Republican | |
| 32nd | Royden A. Letsen | Democrat | Chairman of Highways |
| 33rd | D. Clinton Dominick III* | Republican | |
| 34th | E. Ogden Bush* | Republican | |
| 35th | Robert Watson Pomeroy* | Republican | |
| 36th | Julian B. Erway* | Democrat | Chairman of Insurance |
| 37th | F. Warren Travers | Democrat | Chairman of Internal Affairs |
| 38th | Owen M. Begley* | Democrat | Chairman of Conservation |
| 39th | Nathan Proller | Republican | |
| 40th | John E. Quinn | Democrat | |
| 41st | Dalwin J. Niles | Republican | |
| 42nd | William S. Calli* | Republican | |
| 43rd | Hugh Douglas Barclay | Republican | |
| 44th | Earl E. Boyle | Democrat | |
| 45th | John H. Hughes* | Republican | |
| 46th | Leighton A. Hope* | Republican | |
| 47th | Warren M. Anderson* | Republican | |
| 48th | George R. Metcalf* | Republican | |
| 49th | William T. Smith | Republican | |
| 50th | Bryce Barden | Republican | |
| 51st | Frank E. Van Lare* | Republican | |
| 52nd | Thomas Laverne* | Republican | |
| 53rd | Kenneth R. Willard* | Republican | |
| 54th | Earl W. Brydges* | Republican | Minority Leader |
| 55th | John H. Doerr | Democrat | |
| 56th | Frank J. Glinski* | Democrat | Chairman of Labor |
| 57th | Bertrand H. Hoak | Democrat | Chairman of Affairs of Villages |
| 58th | Jeremiah J. Moriarty* | Republican | |

### Employees

* Secretary:
** Albert J. Abrams (Rep.), holding over until February 9
** George H. Van Lengen (Dem.), from February 9
* Sergeant-at-Arms: John F. O'Hagen, from February 9

## State Assembly
### Assembly members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Walter E. Cooke changed from the Senate to the Assembly.
Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."
| District | District | Assembly members | Party | Notes |
| Albany | 1st | Frank P. Cox* | Dem./Lib. | Chairman of Public Printing |
| Albany | 2nd | Harvey M. Lifset* | Dem./Lib. | Chairman of Cities |
| Allegany | Allegany | Don O. Cummings* | Republican | |
| Bronx | 1st | Donald J. Sullivan* | Democrat | Chairman of Revision |
| Bronx | 2nd | Seymour Posner | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 3rd | Jerome Schutzer* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 4th | Eugene Rodriguez | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 5th | Melville E. Abrams* | Democrat | Chairman of Social Welfare and Relief |
| Bronx | 6th | Murray Lewinter* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 7th | John T. Satriale* | Democrat | Chairman of Ways and Means |
| Bronx | 8th | Alexander Chananau* | Democrat | Chairman of Canals and Waterways |
| Bronx | 9th | Burton Hecht* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 10th | Ferdinand J. Mondello* | Democrat | |
| Bronx | 11th | Aileen B. Ryan* | Democrat | Chairwoman of Charitable and Religious Societies; on November 2, 1965, elected to the New York City Council |
| Bronx | 12th | Fred W. Eggert Jr.* | Democrat | Chairman of Aviation |
| Broome | 1st | Daniel S. Dickinson Jr.* | Rep./Cons. | |
| Broome | 2nd | George L. Ingalls* | Republican | Minority Leader |
| Cattaraugus | Cattaraugus | James F. Hastings* | Republican | |
| Cayuga | Cayuga | George M. Michaels* | Democrat | Chairman of Affairs of Villages |
| Chautauqua | Chautauqua | A. Bruce Manley* | Republican | |
| Chemung | Chemung | L. Richard Marshall* | Republican | |
| Chenango | Chenango | Guy L. Marvin* | Republican | |
| Clinton | Clinton | Louis Wolfe | Democrat | |
| Columbia | Columbia | Willard C. Drumm* | Republican | |
| Cortland | Cortland | Louis H. Folmer* | Republican | |
| Delaware | Delaware | Edwyn E. Mason* | Republican | |
| Dutchess | Dutchess | Victor C. Waryas | Democrat | |
| Erie | 1st | Stephen R. Greco* | Democrat | Chairman of Pensions |
| Erie | 2nd | F. James Kane Jr. | Democrat | |
| Erie | 3rd | Arthur Hardwick Jr. | Democrat | |
| Erie | 4th | Francis J. Griffin* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 5th | John B. Lis* | Democrat | Chairman of Motor Vehicles |
| Erie | 6th | Albert J. Hausbeck* | Democrat | |
| Erie | 7th | Julius Volker* | Republican | |
| Erie | 8th | Dorothy H. Rose | Democrat | |
| Essex | Essex | Grant W. Johnson* | Republican | |
| Franklin | Franklin | James Edward LaPan | Democrat | |
| Fulton and Hamilton | Fulton and Hamilton | Glenn H. Harris | Republican | |
| Genesee | Genesee | James A. Carmichael Jr. | Democrat | |
| Greene | Greene | Clarence D. Lane* | Republican | |
| Herkimer | Herkimer | Donald J. Mitchell | Republican | |
| Jefferson | Jefferson | Orin S. Wilcox* | Republican | |
| Kings | 1st | Max M. Turshen* | Democrat | Chairman of Judiciary |
| Kings | 2nd | Noah Goldstein* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 3rd | Joseph J. Dowd* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 4th | Harold W. Cohn* | Democrat | Chairman of Internal Affairs |
| Kings | 5th | Leonard E. Yoswein* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 6th | Bertram L. Baker* | Democrat | Chairman of Public Education |
| Kings | 7th | Louis Kalish* | Democrat | Chairman of Insurance |
| Kings | 8th | William J. Ferrall* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 9th | Robert F. Kelly* | Republican | |
| Kings | 10th | Walter E. Cooke* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 11th | George A. Cincotta* | Democrat | Chairman of Excise |
| Kings | 12th | Dominick L. DiCarlo | Republican | |
| Kings | 13th | Lawrence P. Murphy* | Democrat | Chairman of Mortgage and Real Estate |
| Kings | 14th | Edward A. Kurmel* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 15th | Alfred A. Lama* | Democrat | Chairman of Banks |
| Kings | 16th | Salvatore J. Grieco* | Democrat | |
| Kings | 17th | Shirley Chisholm | Democrat | |
| Kings | 18th | Stanley Steingut* | Democrat | Chairman of General Laws |
| Kings | 19th | Joseph Kottler* | Democrat | Chairman of Penal Institutions |
| Kings | 20th | Joseph R. Corso* | Democrat | Chairman of Codes |
| Kings | 21st | Bertram L. Podell* | Democrat | Chairman of Local Finance |
| Kings | 22nd | Anthony J. Travia* | Democrat | elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules |
| Lewis | Lewis | Lawrence C. Byrnes | Republican | |
| Livingston | Livingston | James L. Emery | Republican | |
| Madison | Madison | Harold I. Tyler* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 1st | Harold P. Garnham | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 2nd | S. William Rosenberg* | Republican | |
| Monroe | 3rd | James E. Powers | Democrat | |
| Monroe | 4th | Charles F. Stockmeister* | Democrat | Chairman of Conservation |
| Montgomery | Montgomery | Donald A. Campbell* | Republican | |
| Nassau | 1st | Francis T. Purcell | Republican | on June 18, 1965, appointed as Supervisor of Hempstead |
| Nassau | 2nd | Jerome R. McDougal Jr. | Democrat | |
| Nassau | 3rd | John E. Kingston* | Republican | |
| Nassau | 4th | Edwin J. Fehrenbach* | Republican | |
| Nassau | 5th | Herbert Sachs | Democrat | |
| Nassau | 6th | John S. Thorp Jr. | Democrat | |
| New York | 1st | William F. Passannante* | Democrat | Chairman of Claims |
| New York | 2nd | Louis DeSalvio* | Democrat | Chairman of Military Affairs |
| New York | 3rd | Jerome Kretchmer* | Democrat | |
| New York | 4th | Jerome W. Marks* | Democrat | |
| New York | 5th | Albert H. Blumenthal* | Democrat | |
| New York | 6th | Paul J. Curran* | Republican | |
| New York | 7th | Daniel M. Kelly* | Democrat | Chairman of Taxation |
| New York | 8th | John M. Burns* | Republican | |
| New York | 9th | S. William Green | Republican | |
| New York | 10th | Carlos M. Rios* | Democrat | |
| New York | 11th | Percy E. Sutton | Democrat | |
| New York | 12th | Mark T. Southall* | Democrat | |
| New York | 13th | Orest V. Maresca* | Democrat | Chairman of Affairs of the City of New York |
| New York | 14th | Jose Ramos-Lopez* | Democrat | Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills |
| New York | 15th | John J. Walsh* | Democrat | Chairman of Public Institutions |
| New York | 16th | Frank G. Rossetti* | Democrat | Chairman of Labor and Industries |
| Niagara | 1st | Gregory J. Pope | Democrat | |
| Niagara | 2nd | Donald J. O'Hara | Democrat | |
| Oneida | 1st | Paul A. Worlock* | Democrat | Democratic Whip; Chairman of Agriculture |
| Oneida | 2nd | John B. Cosgrove | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 1st | James J. Barry | Democrat | |
| Onondaga | 2nd | John H. Terry* | Republican | |
| Onondaga | 3rd | Philip R. Chase* | Republican | |
| Ontario | Ontario | Frederick L. Warder* | Republican | |
| Orange | 1st | Daniel Becker* | Republican | |
| Orange | 2nd | Jack A. Schlosser | Democrat | |
| Orleans | Orleans | Alonzo L. Waters* | Republican | |
| Oswego | Oswego | Edward F. Crawford* | Republican | |
| Otsego | Otsego | Scott E. Greene | Republican | |
| Putnam | Putnam | Willis H. Stephens* | Republican | |
| Queens | 1st | Thomas V. LaFauci* | Dem./Lib. | Chairman of Civil Service |
| Queens | 2nd | Thomas P. Cullen | Dem./Lib. | |
| Queens | 3rd | Robert E. Whelan* | Democrat | |
| Queens | 4th | Jules G. Sabbatino* | Dem./Lib. | Chairman of Commerce and Navigation |
| Queens | 5th | Martin M. Psaty* | Dem./Lib. | |
| Queens | 6th | Michael G. Rice* | Democrat | Chairman of Public Health |
| Queens | 7th | Moses M. Weinstein* | Dem./Lib. | Majority Leader |
| Queens | 8th | Michael J. Capanegro* | Dem./Lib. | |
| Queens | 9th | Fred W. Preller* | Rep./Cons. | |
| Queens | 10th | Martin Rodell | Dem./Lib. | |
| Queens | 11th | Kenneth N. Browne | Dem./Lib. | |
| Queens | 12th | J. Lewis Fox* | Dem./Lib. | Chairman of Public Service |
| Queens | 13th | Frederick D. Schmidt | Dem./Cons. | |
| Rensselaer | Rensselaer | James A. Lombard | Democrat | |
| Richmond | 1st | Edward J. Amann Jr.* | Republican | |
| Richmond | 2nd | Lucio F. Russo* | Republican | |
| Rockland | Rockland | Joseph T. St. Lawrence | Dem./Lib. | |
| St. Lawrence | St. Lawrence | Verner M. Ingram* | Republican | |
| Saratoga | Saratoga | Stanley L. Van Rensselaer* | Republican | |
| Schenectady | Schenectady | John F. Kirvin | Democrat | |
| Schoharie | Schoharie | Russell Selkirk* | Republican | |
| Schuyler | Schuyler | John P. Callanan | Republican | |
| Seneca | Seneca | Theodore D. Day* | Republican | |
| Steuben | Steuben | Charles D. Henderson* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 1st | Perry B. Duryea Jr.* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 2nd | Prescott B. Huntington* | Republican | |
| Suffolk | 3rd | John G. McCarthy* | Republican | |
| Sullivan | Sullivan | Hyman E. Mintz* | Republican | |
| Tioga | Tioga | Richard C. Lounsberry* | Republican | |
| Tompkins | Tompkins | Constance E. Cook* | Republican | |
| Ulster | Ulster | Kenneth L. Wilson* | Republican | |
| Warren | Warren | Richard J. Bartlett* | Republican | |
| Washington | Washington | Lawrence E. Corbett Jr. | Republican | |
| Wayne | Wayne | Joseph C. Finley* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 1st | Thomas J. McInerney | Democrat | |
| Westchester | 2nd | Lawrence A. Cabot | Dem./Lib. | |
| Westchester | 3rd | George E. Van Cott* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 4th | Anthony B. Gioffre* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 5th | John J. S. Mead* | Republican | |
| Westchester | 6th | Richard A. Cerosky | Republican | |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | Frank Walkley | Republican | |
| Yates | Yates | Paul R. Taylor* | Republican | |

### Employees

* Clerk:
** Ansley B. Borkowski (Rep.), holding over until February 9
** John T. McKennan (Dem.), from February 9
* Sergeant-at-Arms:
** Raymond J. Roche (Rep.), until March 2
** William A. Wardlaw (Dem.), from March 2
* Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Raymond J. Roche, from March 2