178th New York State Legislature


The 178th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1969, to April 20, 1970, during the eleventh and twelfth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1938, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision to follow the One man, one vote rule, re-apportioned in 1966 by order of the New York Court of Appeals, 57 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms. Senate and Assembly districts consisted of approximately the same number of inhabitants, the area being apportioned without restrictions regarding county boundaries.
At this time there were two major political parties: the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Peace and Freedom Party, the Socialist Labor Party and the Socialist Workers Party also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1968, was held on November 5. The only two statewide elective offices up for election were a seat on the New York Court of Appeals and a U.S. Senator from New York. The incumbent office-holders were re-elected: Judge Adrian P. Burke, a Democrat with Republican, Liberal and Conservative endorsement; and U.S. Senator Jacob K. Javits, a Republican with Liberal endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for U.S. Senator, was: Republicans/Liberals 3,270,000; Democrats 2,151,000; Conservatives 1,139,000; Peace and Freedom 9,000; Socialist Labor 8,000; and Socialist Workers 5,000.
Two of the four women members of the previous legislature—Assemblywomen Constance E. Cook, a lawyer of Ithaca; and Gail Hellenbrand, of Brooklyn—were re-elected. Rosemary R. Gunning, a lawyer of Ridgewood, Queens; and Mary Anne Krupsak, a lawyer of Amsterdam, were also elected to the Assembly.
The New York state election, 1969, was held on November 4. The only statewide elective office up for election was a seat on the New York Court of Appeals. Two vacancies in the Assembly were filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1969; and recessed on March 30. The Legislature met again on April 15; and adjourned sine die on May 2.
Perry B. Duryea, Jr. was elected Speaker.
Earl W. Brydges was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate.
On March 28, the Legislature increased the state sales tax by 1 percentage point. Democrats Charles F. Stockmeister and Albert J. Hausbeck voted with the Republicans and subsequently were ostracised by their party. Stockmeister was appointed by Gov. Rockefeller to the Civil Service Commission on July 3, 1969. Hausbeck changed parties in 1970, and was re-elected to the Assembly on the Republican and Conservative tickets in November 1970.
On December 3, 1969, the Court of Appeals did not allow a re-apportionment of the legislative districts which the Republican majorities in both Houses intended to enact in time to be used for the elections in November 1970.
The Legislature met for the second regular session at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1970; and adjourned sine die on April 20.
On April 9, 1970, the Assembly passed a bill allowing abortion without restrictions until 24 weeks of pregnancy. The Senate passed the bill on April 10, and Gov. Rockefeller signed it on April 11, thus becoming the law.

State Senate

Senators

The asterisk denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Jess J. Present changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of the session.
Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on..."
DistrictSenatorPartyNotes
1stLeon E. Giuffreda*Republican
2ndBernard C. Smith*Republican
3rdRalph J. MarinoRepublican
4thEdward J. Speno*Republican
5thJohn D. Caemmerer*Republican
6thJohn R. Dunne*Republican
7thNorman F. Lent*Republicanon November 3, 1970, elected to the 92nd U.S. Congress
8thMurray Schwartz*Democrat
9thJack E. Bronston*Democrat
10thSeymour R. Thaler*Democrat
11thJohn J. Santucci*Democrat
12thMartin J. KnorrRepublican
13thNicholas Ferraro*Democrat
14thEdward S. Lentol*Democrat
15thA. Frederick MeyersonDemocrat
16thWilliam Rosenblatt*Democrat
17thJeremiah B. Bloom*Democrat
18thWaldaba StewartDemocrat
19thSamuel L. Greenberg*Democrat
20thAlbert B. Lewis*Democrat
21stWilliam T. Conklin*Republican
22ndWilliam J. Ferrall*Democratdied on December 13, 1970
23rdJohn J. Marchi*Republican
24thPaul P. E. Bookson*Democrat
25thManfred Ohrenstein*Democrat
26thRoy M. GoodmanRepublican
27thBasil A. Paterson*Democrat
28thJoseph Zaretzki*DemocratMinority Leader
29thRobert García*Democrat
30thHarrison J. Goldin*Democrat
31stJoseph L. GaliberDemocrat
32ndAbraham Bernstein*Democrat
33rdJohn D. Calandra*Republican
34thJohn E. Flynn*Republican
35thAnthony B. Gioffre*Republican
36thBernard G. Gordon*Republican
37thD. Clinton Dominick III*Republican
38thJay P. Rolison, Jr.*Republican
39thDouglas Hudson*Republican
40thWalter B. LangleyRepublican
41stDalwin J. Niles*Republican
42ndRonald B. Stafford*Republican
43rdHugh Douglas Barclay*Republican
44thJames H. Donovan*Republican
45thJohn H. Hughes*RepublicanChairman of Judiciary
46thTarky Lombardi, Jr.*Republican
47thWarren M. Anderson*RepublicanChairman of Finance
48thWilliam T. Smith*Republican
49thTheodore D. Day*Republican
50thThomas Laverne*Republican
51stJames E. Powers*Democrat
52ndEarl W. Brydges*Republicanre-elected Temporary President
53rdWilliam E. Adams*Republicanon December 29, 1970, appointed Counsel to the NYS Board of Standards and Appeals
54thThomas F. McGowan*Republican
55thFrank J. Glinski*Democrat
56thJames D. Griffin*Democrat
57thJess J. Present*Republican

Employees

Assembly 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..."
DistrictAssembly memberPartyNotes
1stPerry B. Duryea, Jr.*Republicanelected Speaker
2ndPeter J. Costigan*Republican
3rdCharles A. JerabekCons./Rep.
4thPrescott B. Huntington*Republican
5thWilliam L. Burns*Republican
6thJohn G. McCarthy*Republican
7thJoseph M. Reilly*Republican
8thMartin Ginsberg*Republican
9thFrancis P. McCloskey*Republican
10thMilton Jonas*Republican
11thStanley Harwood*Democrat
12thJoseph M. Margiotta*Republican
13thJohn S. Thorp Jr.*Democrat
14thArthur J. Kremer*Democrat
15thEli Wager*Democrat
16thGeorge J. Farrell, Jr.*Republican
17thJohn E. Kingston*RepublicanMajority Leader
18thVincent R. Balletta, Jr.*Republican
19thHerbert A. Posner*Democrat
20thJoseph J. Kunzeman*Republican
21stMartin Rodell*Democrat
22ndJohn T. Gallagher*Republican
23rdLeonard P. Stavisky*Democrat
24thArthur J. CoopermanDemocrat
25thMoses M. Weinstein*Democraton November 4, 1969, elected to the New York Supreme Court
25thEmanuel R. GoldDemocraton February 17, 1970, elected to fill vacancy
26thGuy R. BrewerDemocrat
27thHerbert J. Miller*Democrat
28thAlfred D. Lerner*Republican
29thFrederick D. Schmidt*Democrat
30thJohn T. FlackRepublican
31stJoseph F. LisaDemocrat
32ndJules G. Sabbatino*Democrat
33rdJoseph S. Calabretta*Democrat
34thRosemary R. GunningCons./Rep.
35thChester J. Straub*Democrat
36thRudolph F. DiBlasi*Democratresigned to run for the New York City Council
36thPeter G. MirtoDemocraton November 4, 1969, elected to fill vacancy
37thSamuel D. Wright*Democrat
38thVito P. BattistaRepublican
39thStanley FinkDemocrat
40thAlfred A. Lama*Democrat
41stStanley Steingut*DemocratMinority Leader
42ndLawrence P. Murphy*Democrat
43rdGeorge A. Cincotta*Democrat
44thSidney A. LichtmanDemocrat
45thStephen J. SolarzDemocrat
46thLeonard M. Simon*Democrat
47thSalvatore J. Grieco*Democrat
48thLeonard SilvermanDemocrat
49thDominick L. DiCarlo*Republican
50thRobert F. Kelly*Republican
51stVincent A. RiccioRepublican
52ndJoseph J. Dowd*Democrat
53rdWilliam J. Giordano*Democrat
54thGail Hellenbrand*Democrat
55thThomas R. FortuneDemocrat
56thBertram L. Baker*Democrat
57thHarvey L. StrelzinDemocrat
58thLucio F. Russo*Republican
59thEdward J. Amann Jr.*Republican
60thLouis DeSalvio*Democrat
61stAnthony G. DiFalcoDemocrat
62ndAndrew J. SteinDemocrat
63rdWilliam F. Passannante*Democrat
64thPeter A. A. BerleDemocrat
65thJerome Kretchmer*Democrat
66thStephen C. HansenRepublican
67thAlbert H. Blumenthal*Democrat
68thFrank G. Rossetti*Democrat
69thFranz S. LeichterDemocrat
70thHulan E. Jack*Democrat
71stStephen S. GottliebDemocrat
72ndCharles B. Rangel*Democraton November 3, 1970, elected to the 92nd U.S. Congress
73rdJohn J. Walsh*Democrat
74thMark T. Southall*Democrat
75thHarry Kraf*Democrat
76thSeymour Posner*Democrat
77thArmando MontanoDemocrat
78thEdward A. Stevenson, Sr.*Democrat
79thManuel Ramos*Democrat
80thFerdinand J. Mondello*Democrat
81stRobert Abrams*Democraton November 4, 1969, elected Borough President of the Bronx
81stAlan HochbergDemocraton February 17, 1970, elected to fill vacancy
82ndAlexander Chananau*Democrat
83rdBurton Hecht*Democrat
84thBenjamin Altman*Democraton January 6, 1970, appointed as NYC Commissioner of Rent and Housing Maintenance
84thG. Oliver KoppellInd. Dem.on March 3, 1970, elected to fill vacancy
85thAnthony J. Mercorella*Democrat
86thAnthony J. StellaDemocrat
87thThomas J. McInerney*Democrat
88thGeorge E. Van Cott*Republican
89thAlvin M. Suchin*Republican
90thGordon W. Burrows*Republican
91stJoseph R. Pisani*Republican
92ndRichard A. Cerosky*Republican
93rdPeter R. Biondo*Republican
94thEugene LevyRepublican
95thBenjamin A. Gilman*Republican
96thDaniel BeckerRepublican
97thWillis H. Stephens*RepublicanChairman of Ways and Means
98thEmeel S. BetrosRepublican
99thH. Clark BellRepublican
100thClarence D. Lane*Republican
101stNeil W. Kelleher*Republican
102ndRaymond C. SkuseRepublican
103rdFred G. Field, Jr.Republican
104thMary Anne KrupsakDemocrat
105thClark C. Wemple*Republican
106thFred W. Droms, Jr.*Republican
107thLawrence E. Corbett Jr.*Republican
108thAndrew W. Ryan, Jr.Republican
109thGlenn H. Harris*Republican
110thEdward J. Keenan*Republican
111thDonald L. Taylor*Republican
112thDonald J. Mitchell*Republican
113thEdwyn E. Mason*Republican
114thRichard A. Brown*Republican
115thWilliam R. Sears*Republican
116thJohn T. Buckley*Republican
117thEdward F. Crawford*RepublicanChairman of Judiciary
118thLeonard F. BersaniRepublican
119thKenneth G. Bartlett*Republican
120thMortimer P. Gallivan*Democrat
121stJohn H. Terry*Republicanon November 3, 1970, elected to the 92nd U.S. Congress
122ndGeorge M. MichaelsDemocrat
123rdKenneth S. Leasure*Republican
124thFrancis J. Boland, Jr.*Republican
125thConstance E. Cook*Republican
126thL. Richard Marshall*Republican
127thCharles D. Henderson*Republican
128thFrederick L. Warder*Republican
129thJoseph C. Finley*Republican
130thDonald C. Shoemaker*Republican
131stRaymond J. Lill*Democrat
132ndS. William Rosenberg*Republican
133rdFrank A. Carroll*Republican
134thCharles F. Stockmeister*Democraton July 3, 1969, appointed to the New York State Civil Service Commission
134thWilliam M. SteinfeldtRepublicanon November 4, 1969, elected to fill vacancy
135thDon W. Cook*Republican
136thJames L. Emery*Republican
137thV. Sumner Carroll*Republican
138thGregory J. Pope*Democrat
139thLloyd J. Long*Republican
140thJames T. McFarland*Republican
141stChester R. Hardt*Republican
142ndStephen R. Greco*Democrat
143rdArthur O. Eve*Democrat
144thAlbert J. Hausbeck*Democrat
145thJohn B. Lis*Democrat
146thFrancis J. Griffin*Democrat
147thRonald H. TillsRepublican
148thFrank Walkley*Republican
149thLloyd A. Russell*Republican
150thJohn W. BeckmanRepublican

Employees