John D. Caemmerer (January 19, 1928 – February 7, 1982) was a New York lawyer and politician.

Life

John Caemmerer was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and grew up in Williston Park,

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Isl ...

. He was educated in local public schools prior to attending

Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and later

Notre Dame University The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and St. John's Law School. Caemmerer was Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of

North Hempstead North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hemps ...

and Village Attorney for the Incorporated Village of Williston Park. Both before and after being elected to the New York State Senate Caemmerer was a principal in the law firms, Pratt, Caemmerer, & Cleary and later Farrell, Fritz, Caemmerer, Cleary, Barnosky, & Armentano. During this time Caemmerer served as a local

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Leader, and was North Hempstead Republican Committee Chairman from 1966 to 1972. Caemmerer was a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 until his death in 1982, sitting in the 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd and

184th New York State Legislature The 184th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Backg ...

s. He was Chairman of the Committee on Villages and Local Government until 1972 and, after the death of Edward J. Speno, became Chairman of the Committee on Transportation. Caemmerer worked to increase penalties on

drunk driver Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

s while lowering the maximum allowable

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...

from .15 to eventually .10 in New York State. Caemmerer was also one of the first New York State Legislators to propose a mandatory

seatbelt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt red ...

law in the state. Caemmerer was also involved in the first MTA capital plan for New York State. Many in the Senate feel that Caemmerer's crowning achievement was the passage of the

child seat A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...

law in 1981. He died on February 7, 1982, in

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. The Long Island Rail Road's

West Side Yard The West Side Yard (officially the John D. Caemmerer West Side Yard) is a rail yard of 30 tracks owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. Used to store commuter rail trains operated by t ...

was officially named the John D. Caemmerer West Side Yard because Caemmerer obtained funding to construct the facility. Ironically, Caemmerer's 17 year-old daughter, Kathleen Caemmerer, was the sole survivor of a tragic 1982 Long Island Rail Road accident. Caemmerer's daughter was a passenger in the van struck by a train traveling 65 MPH. The 1981 Ford Econoline carried ten teenagers, and apparently drove around a flashing railroad crossing gate when the train was not able to stop in time.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caemmerer, John D. 1928 births 1982 deaths People from Williston Park, New York University of Notre Dame alumni St. John's University School of Law alumni Republican Party New York (state) state senators Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American legislators Xavier High School (New York City) alumni