159th New York State Legislature

159th New York State Legislature
159th New York State Legislature
	New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1936
Senate
Members	51
President	Lt. Gov. M. William Bray (D)
Temporary President	John J. Dunnigan (D)
Party control	Democratic (29–22)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Irving M. Ives (R)
Party control	Republican (81–69)
Sessions
1st
1st	January 1 – May 13, 1936

The 159th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to May 13, 1936, during the fourth year 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; 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 Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Socialist Party and the Communist Party also nominated tickets. In New York City, a "City Fusion" and a "Jeffersonian" ticket were also nominated.

Elections[]

The New York state election, 1935, was held on November 5. No statewide elective offices were up for election.

Assemblywomen Doris I. Byrne (Dem.), a lawyer from the Bronx, and Jane H. Todd (Rep.), of Tarrytown, were re-elected.

Sessions[]

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 1, 1936; and adjourned on May 13.^[1]

Irving M. Ives (Rep.) was 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. Jacob H. Livingston and Harry F. Dunkel changed from the Assembly to the Senate.

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

District	Senator	Party	Notes
1st	George L. Thompson*	Republican
2nd	Joseph D. Nunan, Jr.*	Democrat
3rd	Frank B. Hendel*	Democrat
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld*	Democrat
5th	John J. Howard*	Democrat
6th	Edward J. Coughlin*	Democrat
7th	Jacob J. Schwartzwald*	Democrat
8th	Joseph A. Esquirol*	Democrat
9th	Jacob H. Livingston*	Democrat	elected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry L. O'Brien
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey*	Democrat	Chairman of Finance
11th	James J. Crawford*	Democrat
12th	Elmer F. Quinn*	Democrat
13th	Thomas F. Burchill*	Democrat
14th	Samuel Mandelbaum*	Democrat	on June 20, 1936, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
15th	John L. Buckley*	Democrat
16th	John J. McNaboe*	Democrat
17th	Joseph Clark Baldwin*	Republican
18th	John T. McCall*	Democrat
19th	Duncan T. O'Brien*	Democrat
20th	A. Spencer Feld*	Democrat
21st	Lazarus Joseph*	Democrat
22nd	Julius S. Berg*	Democrat
23rd	John J. Dunnigan*	Democrat	Temporary President
24th	Rae L. Egbert*	Democrat
25th	Pliny W. Williamson*	Republican
26th	James A. Garrity*	Democrat
27th	Thomas C. Desmond*	Republican
28th	Frederic H. Bontecou*	Republican
29th	Arthur H. Wicks*	Rep./Soc.
30th	William T. Byrne*	Democrat	on November 3, 1936, elected to the 75th U.S. Congress
31st	Ogden J. Ross*	Democrat
32nd	Edwin E. Miller*	Republican
33rd	Benjamin F. Feinberg*	Republican
34th	Rhoda Fox Graves*	Republican
35th	Harry F. Dunkel*	Republican	elected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry I. Patrie
36th	William H. Hampton*	Republican
37th	Perley A. Pitcher*	Republican
38th	George R. Fearon*	Republican	Minority Leader
39th	Walter W. Stokes*	Republican
40th	Martin W. Deyo*	Republican
41st	C. Tracey Stagg*	Republican
42nd	Charles J. Hewitt*	Republican
43rd	Earle S. Warner*	Republican
44th	Joe R. Hanley*	Republican
45th	George B. Kelly*	Democrat	on November 3, 1936, elected to the 75th U.S. Congress
46th	*	Democrat
47th	William H. Lee*	Republican
48th	*	Democrat
49th	Stephen J. Wojtkowiak*	Democrat
50th	Nelson W. Cheney*	Republican
51st	Leigh G. Kirkland*	Republican

Employees[]

Clerk:

State Assembly[]

Assemblymen[]

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	Erastus Corning 2nd	Democrat
	2nd	*	Democrat
	3rd	*	Democrat
Allegany		William H. MacKenzie	Republican
Bronx	1st	*	Democrat
	2nd	Doris I. Byrne*	Democrat
	3rd	Carl Pack*	Democrat
	4th	*	Democrat
	5th		Democrat^[2]
	6th	Peter A. Quinn	Democrat
	7th		Democrat
	8th	*	Democrat
Broome	1st	Edward F. Vincent*	Republican
Broome	2nd	*	Republican
Cattaraugus		James W. Riley*	Republican
Cayuga		*	Republican
Chautauqua	1st	*	Republican
Chautauqua	2nd		Republican
Chemung		Chauncey B. Hammond*	Republican
Chenango		Irving M. Ives*	Republican	elected Speaker; Chairman of Rules
Clinton		*	Republican
Columbia		*	Republican
Cortland		*	Republican
Delaware		E. Ogden Bush*	Republican	Chairman of Public Health
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen*	Republican	Chairman of Agriculture
Dutchess	2nd	*	Republican
Erie	1st		Republican
	2nd	*	Republican
	3rd	Frank X. Bernhardt	Republican
	4th	*	Democrat
	5th	*	Democrat
	6th		Republican
	7th	Arthur L. Swartz*	Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
	8th	*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
Essex			Republican
Franklin		*	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Denton D. Lake	Republican
Genesee		*	Republican	Chairman of Motor Vehicles
Greene			Republican
Herkimer		*	Republican
Jefferson			Republican
Kings	1st	*	Democrat
	2nd	*	Democrat
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen*	Democrat
	4th	Bernard Austin*	Democrat
	5th	*	Democrat
	6th		Rep./City F.
	7th	William Kirnan*	Dem./Jeff.
	8th	James V. Mangano*	Democrat
	9th		Democrat
	10th	*	Dem./Jeff.
	11th	*	Democrat
	12th	Edward S. Moran, Jr.*	Democrat
	13th	*	Democrat
	14th	*	Democrat
	15th	*	Democrat
	16th	Carmine J. Marasco*	Democrat
	17th	*	Democrat
	18th	Irwin Steingut*	Democrat	Minority Leader
	19th	*	Democrat
	20th	Eugene J. Keogh	Democrat	on November 3, 1936, elected to the 75th U.S. Congress
	21st	*	Democrat
	22nd		Democrat
	23rd	*	Democrat
Lewis		Fred A. Young	Republican
Livingston		James J. Wadsworth*	Republican	Chairman of Public Welfare and Relief
Madison		Wheeler Milmoe*	Republican
Monroe	1st		Republican
	2nd		Republican
	3rd	*	Democrat
	4th		Republican
	5th		Republican
Montgomery		*	Republican
Nassau	1st	*	Republican	Chairman of Mortgage and Real Estate
Nassau	2nd	Leonard W. Hall*	Republican	Chairman of Re-Apportionment
New York	1st	*	Democrat
	2nd	*	Democrat
	3rd	*	Democrat
	4th	Leonard Farbstein*	Democrat
	5th	John F. Killgrew*	Democrat
	6th	*	Democrat
	7th	*	Democrat
	8th	Stephen J. Jarema	Democrat
	9th	*	Democrat
	10th	Herbert Brownell Jr.*	Rep./City F.	Chairman of Affairs of the City of New York
	11th	*	Democrat
	12th	*	Democrat
	13th	*	Democrat
	14th	Francis J. McCaffrey, Jr.*	Democrat
	15th	Abbot Low Moffat*	Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
	16th	*	Democrat
	17th	Meyer Alterman*	Democrat
	18th	*	Democrat
	19th	Robert W. Justice	Democrat
	20th		Democrat
	21st	William T. Andrews*	Democrat
	22nd	*	Democrat
	23rd		Democrat
Niagara	1st	*	Republican
Niagara	2nd	Harry D. Suitor*	Republican
Oneida	1st		Democrat
	2nd	William R. Williams	Republican
	3rd	*	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Horace M. Stone*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
	2nd	*	Republican
	3rd	Richard B. Smith*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
Ontario		*	Republican
Orange	1st	Lee B. Mailler*	Republican
Orange	2nd	*	Republican	Chairman of General Laws
Orleans		*	Republican	Chairman of Public Service
Oswego		*	Republican
Otsego		*	Republican
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens*	Republican	Chairman of Banks
Queens	1st	Mario J. Cariello	Democrat
	2nd	George F. Torsney*	Democrat
	3rd	Peter T. Farrell*	Democrat
	4th		Democrat
	5th	Maurice A. FitzGerald*	Democrat
	6th		Democrat
Rensselaer	1st		Ind. Dem.^[3]
Rensselaer	2nd	*	Rep./Ind. C.	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
Richmond	1st		Democrat
Richmond	2nd	*	Democrat
Rockland		*	Republican	Chairman of Civil Service
St. Lawrence	1st	*	Republican
St. Lawrence	2nd	*	Republican
Saratoga		*	Republican
Schenectady	1st	Oswald D. Heck*	Republican	Majority Leader
Schenectady	2nd	Harold Armstrong*	Republican
Schoharie		*	Dem./Soc.
Schuyler			Republican
Seneca		*	Republican
Steuben	1st	Wilson Messer*	Republican
Steuben	2nd	*	Republican
Suffolk	1st	John G. Downs*	Republican
Suffolk	2nd	*	Republican
Sullivan		J. Maxwell Knapp*	Republican
Tioga		*	Republican	Chairman of Public Printing
Tompkins		*	Republican	Chairman of Codes
Ulster		*	Rep./Soc.
Warren		Harry A. Reoux*	Republican
Washington		Herbert A. Bartholomew*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
Wayne		*	Republican	Chairman of Public Education
Westchester	1st	*	Republican
	2nd	Ralph A. Gamble*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
	3rd	*	Democrat
	4th	Jane H. Todd*	Republican	Chairwoman of Social Welfare
	5th		Republican
Wyoming		Harold C. Ostertag*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
Yates		Fred S. Hollowell*	Republican	Chairman of Excise

Employees[]

Clerk: Ansley B. Borkowski
Secretary to the Speaker:

Notes[]

^ New York Red Book (1939; pg. 252)
^ Benjamin Gladstone, the previous incumbent, won the election on November 5, 1935 but died unexpectedly the following month. Gans won the special election held on January 21, 1936 to replace him. (Assembly Seat Won by Bronx Democrat – Gans Is Victor in Special Vote — Communist Runs Second, Republican Fourth. New York Times, January 22, 1966, p. 2.)
^ Casey was a Democrat who was elected on the Republican and Independent Citizens tickets, defeating the incumbent Democrat who ran on the Democratic and Socialist tickets for re-election.

Sources[]

Members of the New York Assembly (1930s) at Political Graveyard
Members of Legislature—1936 in The State Employee (February 1936, Vol. 5, No. 2, pg. 10, 12 and 15)
Moffat to Get Ways–Means Post in G.O.P. Harmony Move in the New York Post on January 6, 1936
Moffat Heads Ways and Means Comm. in the Plattsburgh Daily Press, of Plattsburgh, on January 7, 1936
Republican Bolters Suffer No Reprisals at Hands of Speaker in The Niagara Falls Gazette, of Niagara Falls, on January 19, 1937

[1] New York Red Book (1939; pg. 252)

[2] Benjamin Gladstone, the previous incumbent, won the election on November 5, 1935 but died unexpectedly the following month. Gans won the special election held on January 21, 1936 to replace him. (Assembly Seat Won by Bronx Democrat – Gans Is Victor in Special Vote — Communist Runs Second, Republican Fourth. New York Times, January 22, 1966, p. 2.)

[3] Casey was a Democrat who was elected on the Republican and Independent Citizens tickets, defeating the incumbent Democrat who ran on the Democratic and Socialist tickets for re-election.

[1]

[2]

[3]