157th New York State Legislature

The 157th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3 to August 18, 1934, during the second year of Herbert H. Lehman's governorship, in Albany.

157th New York State Legislature
← 156th 158th →
New York State Capitol (2009)
Overview
Legislative body	New York State Legislature
Jurisdiction	New York, United States
Term	January 1 – December 31, 1934
Senate
Members	51
President	Lt. Gov. M. William Bray (D)
Temporary President	John J. Dunnigan (D)
Party control	Democratic (26–25)
Assembly
Members	150
Speaker	Joseph A. McGinnies (R)
Party control	Republican (85–65)
Sessions
1st January 3 – April 28,[1] 1934 2nd July 10 – August 18, 1934

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. The Prohibition Party adopted at this time the name Law Preservation Party: to emphasize that Prohibition should be preserved while it was in the process of being repealed. They endorsed the "dry" candidates (mostly Republicans) and nominated own candidates in many districts where "wet" candidates were the front-runners. In New York City, a "City Fusion" (generally allied with the Republicans) and a "Recovery" (Anti-Tammany Democrats supporting Joseph V. McKee) ticket were nominated for the local elections held at the same time.

Elections

The 1933 New York state election was held on November 7. 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 Leonard C. Crouch who was nominated by the Democrats and endorsed by the Republicans, the Law Preservation Party and the City Fusion.

The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Judge of the Court of Appeals, was: Democrats/Republicans/Law Preservation/City Fusion 3,250,000; Socialists 100,000; and Communists 31,000.

Doris I. Byrne (Dem.), a lawyer from the Bronx, was the only woman elected to the 157th Legislature.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1934; and adjourned at 2.30 a.m. on April 28.^[2]

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

Marguerite O'Connell (Dem.) was elected Clerk of the New York State Senate to fill the unexpired term of her deceased husband Patrick H. O'Connell, becoming the first woman to hold this office.^[3]

Assembly Clerk Fred W. Hammond (Rep.) encountered opposition from the Republican State Committee Chairman W. Kingsland Macy who instructed his followers not to vote for Hammond. The second ballot for assembly clerk, on January 4, stood: Hammond 66; Louis A. Cuvillier (Dem.) 62; Charles F. Close (Rep.) 16; Ward H. Arburry 3; and Clement Curry 1.^[4] The split persisted, and no clerk could be elected. On January 12, in an unprecedented move, Speaker McGinnies appointed Hammond as Clerk without election.^[5]

State Senator Warren T. Thayer (Rep.) was accused to act as a lobbyist for a utility company while having been chairman of the senate committee in charge of the pertaining legislation. He resigned his seat on June 11. He was tried before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and on June 19, the State Senate in special session found Thayer guilty of official misconduct by the unanimous vote of the 47 senators present.^[6]

The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on July 10, 1934;^[7] and adjourned on August 18.^[8]

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
2nd	Joseph D. Nunan Jr.*	Democrat	Chairman of Civil Service
3rd	Frank B. Hendel*	Democrat	Chairman of Public Printing
4th	Philip M. Kleinfeld*	Democrat	Chairman of Excise
5th	John J. Howard*	Democrat	Chairman of Penal Institutions
6th	Marcellus H. Evans*	Democrat	Chairman of General Laws; on November 6, 1934, elected to the 74th U.S. Congress
7th	George Blumberg*	Republican
8th	Joseph A. Esquirol*	Democrat	Chairman of Public Health
9th	Henry L. O'Brien*	Democrat	Chairman of Labor and Industry
10th	Jeremiah F. Twomey*	Democrat	Chairman of Finance
11th	James J. Crawford*	Democrat	Chairman of Pensions
12th	Elmer F. Quinn*	Democrat	Chairman of Codes
13th	Thomas F. Burchill*	Democrat	Chairman of Public Service
14th	Samuel Mandelbaum*	Democrat	Chairman of Cities
15th	John L. Buckley*	Democrat	Chairman of Taxation and Retrenchment
16th	John J. McNaboe*	Democrat	Chairman of Conservation; and of Re-Apportionment
17th	Albert Wald*	Democrat	Chairman of Revision
18th	John T. McCall*	Democrat	Chairman of Banks
19th	Duncan T. O'Brien*	Democrat	Chairman of Insurance
20th	A. Spencer Feld*	Democrat	Chairman of Public Education
21st	Lazarus Joseph	Democrat	elected to fill vacancy, in place of Henry G. Schackno; Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
22nd	Julius S. Berg*	Democrat	Chairman of Privileges and Elections
23rd	John J. Dunnigan*	Democrat	Temporary President; Chairman of Rules
24th	Harry J. Palmer*	Democrat	Chairman of Internal Affairs
25th	Walter W. Westall*	Republican
26th	Seabury C. Mastick*	Rep./Law P.
27th	Thomas C. Desmond*	Republican
28th	J. Griswold Webb*	Republican	died on May 5, 1934
	Frederic H. Bontecou	Republican	elected on July 5 to fill vacancy[9]
29th	Arthur H. Wicks*	Rep./Law P.
30th	William T. Byrne*	Democrat	Chairman of Judiciary; and of Agriculture
31st	Ogden J. Ross*	Democrat	Chairman of Military Affairs
32nd	Alexander G. Baxter*	Republican	died on August 30, 1934
33rd	Benjamin F. Feinberg*	Republican
34th	Warren T. Thayer*	Republican	resigned his seat on June 11[10]
35th	Henry I. Patrie*	Rep./Law P.
36th	Michael J. Kernan*	Democrat	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
37th	Perley A. Pitcher*	Republican
38th	George R. Fearon*	Republican	Minority Leader
39th	Walter W. Stokes*	Republican
40th	Bert Lord*	Rep./Law P.	on November 6, 1934, elected to the 74th U.S. Congress
41st	Frank A. Frost*	Rep./Law P.
42nd	Charles J. Hewitt*	Republican
43rd	Earle S. Warner*	Republican
44th	Joe R. Hanley*	Rep./Law P.
45th	Cosmo A. Cilano*	Republican
46th	Fred J. Slater*	Republican
47th	William H. Lee*	Republican
48th	Lawrence G. Williams*	Republican
49th	Stephen J. Wojtkowiak*	Democrat	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
50th	Nelson W. Cheney*	Republican
51st	Leigh G. Kirkland*	Rep./Law P.

Employees

• Clerk: Marguerite O'Connell

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

District		Assemblymen	Party	Notes
Albany	1st	John H. Cahill*	Democrat
	2nd	John P. Hayes*	Democrat
	3rd	S. Earl McDermott*	Democrat
Allegany		Harry E. Goodrich*	Republican	Chairman of Charitable and Religious Societies
Bronx	1st	Matthew J. H. McLaughlin	Dem./Rec.
	2nd	Doris I. Byrne	Dem./Rec.
	3rd	Carl Pack*	Dem./Rec.
	4th	Samuel Weisman	Dem./Rec.
	5th	Benjamin Gladstone	Dem./Rec.
	6th	Christopher C. McGrath*	Dem./Rec.
	7th	Magnus Lipton	Rep./City F.
	8th	John A. Devany Jr.*	Dem./Rec.
Broome	1st	Edward F. Vincent	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Martin W. Deyo*	Rep./Law P.
Cattaraugus		James W. Riley*	Republican
Cayuga		Andrew D. Burgdorf	Rep./Law P.
Chautauqua	1st	David L. Brunstrom*	Republican
	2nd	Joseph A. McGinnies*	Republican	re-elected Speaker
Chemung		Thomas Jacob Banfield	Democrat
Chenango		Irving M. Ives*	Republican	Chairman of Public Education
Clinton		Leo E. Trombly*	Democrat
Columbia		Frederick A. Washburn*	Republican
Cortland		Albert Haskell Jr.	Republican
Delaware		E. Ogden Bush*	Republican
Dutchess	1st	Howard N. Allen*	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Emerson D. Fite	Rep./Law P.
Erie	1st	Joseph A. Nicosia	Democrat
	2nd	Harold B. Ehrlich	Republican
	3rd	Frank X. Bernhardt*	Republican	Chairman of Excise
	4th	Anthony J. Canney*	Democrat
	5th	Edwin L. Kantowski*	Democrat
	6th	Howard W. Dickey*	Republican	Chairman of General Laws
	7th	Arthur L. Swartz*	Republican	Chairman of Penal Institutions
	8th	R. Foster Piper*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Villages
Essex		Fred L. Porter*	Republican	Chairman of Ways and Means
Franklin		James A. Latour*	Republican
Fulton and Hamilton		Harry F. Dunkel*	Republican
Genesee		Herbert A. Rapp*	Republican
Greene		Ellis W. Bentley*	Republican	Chairman of Conservation
Herkimer		David C. Wightman	Republican
Jefferson		Jasper W. Cornaire*	Rep./Law P.	Chairman of Motor Vehicles
Kings	1st	Crawford W. Hawkins*	Dem./Rec./Law P.
	2nd	Albert D. Schanzer*	Dem./Rec.
	3rd	Michael J. Gillen*	Democrat
	4th	George E. Dennen*	Dem./Rec.
	5th	John J. Cooney*	Dem./Rec.
	6th	Samson Inselbuch	Rep./City F.
	7th	William Kirnan*	Dem./Rec.
	8th	Luke O'Reilly*	Dem./Rec.
	9th	Daniel McNamara Jr.*	Dem./Rec.
	10th	William C. McCreery*	Dem./Rec.
	11th	Edward J. Coughlin*	Dem./Rec.
	12th	Edward S. Moran Jr.*	Dem./Rec.
	13th	William Breitenbach*	Dem./Rec.
	14th	Aaron F. Goldstein	Dem./Rec.
	15th	Edward P. Doyle*	Democrat
	16th	Rudolph Bauer	Rep./City F.
	17th	George W. Stewart*	Dem./Rec.
	18th	Irwin Steingut*	Dem./Rec.	Minority Leader
	19th	Alexander Berley	Rep./City F.
	20th	Joseph J. Monahan*	Dem./Rec.
	21st	Charles H. Breitbart*	Dem./Rec.
	22nd	Jacob H. Livingston*	Dem./Rec.
	23rd	Albert M. Cohen*	Dem./Rec.
Lewis		Edward M. Sheldon*	Republican
Livingston		James J. Wadsworth*	Republican
Madison		Wheeler Milmoe	Republican
Monroe	1st	Daniel J. O'Mara*	Republican
	2nd	George B. Kelly*	Democrat
	3rd	Earl C. Langenbacher	Democrat
	4th	Paul R. Taylor	Democrat
	5th	Donald J. Corbett	Democrat
Montgomery		L. James Shaver*	Republican
Nassau	1st	Harold P. Herman	Republican
	2nd	Leonard W. Hall	Republican
New York	1st	James J. Dooling*	Democrat
	2nd	Millard E. Theodore*	Democrat
	3rd	Eugene R. Duffy	Democrat
	4th	Leonard Farbstein*	Democrat
	5th	John F. Killgrew*	Democrat
	6th	Irving D. Neustein*	Democrat
	7th	Saul S. Streit*	Dem./ICL
	8th	Joseph Hamerman*	Democrat
	9th	I. Arnold Ross	Rep./City F.
	10th	Herbert Brownell Jr.*	Republican
	11th	Patrick H. Sullivan*	Democrat
	12th	John A. Byrnes*	Democrat
	13th	William J. Sheldrick*	Democrat
	14th	Francis J. McCaffrey Jr.	Dem./Rec.
	15th	Abbot Low Moffat*	Rep./City F.	Chairman of Affairs of New York City
	16th	William Schwartz*	Democrat
	17th	Meyer Alterman*	Dem./Rec.
	18th	Ernest Lappano	Rep./City F.
	19th	James E. Stephens*	Democrat
	20th	Wilbur J. Murphy	Rep./City F.
	21st	Robert Bernstein	Dem./Rec.
	22nd	Daniel Flynn	Democrat
	23rd	William R. Lieberman	Rep./City F.
Niagara	1st	Fayette E. Pease*	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Harry D. Suitor	Republican
Oneida	1st	Frank T. Quinn*	Democrat
	2nd	Russell G. Dunmore*	Republican	Majority Leader
	3rd	Fred L. Meiss	Republican
Onondaga	1st	Horace M. Stone*	Republican	Chairman of Judiciary
	2nd	George B. Parsons	Republican
	3rd	Richard B. Smith*	Republican	Chairman of Affairs of Cities
Ontario		Harry R. Marble	Rep./Law P.
Orange	1st	Lee B. Mailler	Republican
	2nd	Rainey S. Taylor*	Republican
Orleans		John S. Thompson*	Republican	Chairman of Public Service
Oswego		Victor C. Lewis*	Republican	Chairman of Public Health
Otsego		Frank M. Smith*	Republican	Chairman of Agriculture
Putnam		D. Mallory Stephens*	Republican	Chairman of Banks
Queens	1st	Harold J. Crawford*	Dem./Rec.
	2nd	George F. Torsney*	Dem./Rec./ICL
	3rd	Peter T. Farrell*	Dem./Rec.
	4th	Jay E. Rice	Rep./City F.
	5th	Maurice A. FitzGerald*	Dem./Rec./ICL
	6th	Frederick L. Zimmerman*	Dem./Rec./ICL
Rensselaer	1st	Michael F. Breen*	Democrat
	2nd	Maurice Whitney*	Republican	Chairman of Commerce and Navigation
Richmond	1st	W. Irving Lewis	Rep./City F.
	2nd	Sidney Jacobi	Rep./City F.
Rockland		Laurens M. Hamilton	Republican
St. Lawrence	1st	W. Allan Newell*	Republican
	2nd	Walter L. Pratt*	Republican	Chairman of Taxation; died on April 3, 1934
		Warren O. Daniels	Republican	elected on July 5 to fill vacancy[11]
Saratoga		William E. Morris	Republican
Schenectady	1st	Oswald D. Heck*	Rep./Law P.
	2nd	Harold Armstrong	Republican
Schoharie		William S. Dunn*	Dem./Soc.
Schuyler		Edward K. Corwin*	Republican
Seneca		James D. Pollard*	Republican	Chairman of Canals
Steuben	1st	Wilson Messer*	Republican	Chairman of Labor and Industry
	2nd	J. Austin Otto*	Republican
Suffolk	1st	John G. Downs*	Republican	Chairman of Printed and Engrossed Bills
	2nd	Hamilton F. Potter*	Republican	Chairman of Pensions
Sullivan		J. Maxwell Knapp	Republican
Tioga		Frank G. Miller*	Rep./Law P.
Tompkins		James R. Robinson*	Republican	Chairman of Codes
Ulster		J. Edward Conway*	Republican
Warren		Harry A. Reoux*	Republican
Washington		Herbert A. Bartholomew*	Republican	Chairman of Internal Affairs
Wayne		Harry L. Averill*	Rep./Law P.
Westchester	1st	Herbert R. Smith*	Republican
	2nd	Ralph A. Gamble*	Republican
	3rd	Hugh A. Lavery	Democrat
	4th	Alexander H. Garnjost*	Republican	Chairman of Insurance
	5th	William F. Condon*	Republican
Wyoming		Harold C. Ostertag*	Rep./Law P.
Yates		Fred S. Hollowell*	Republican

Employees

• Clerk: Fred W. Hammond