The 166th New York State Legislature, consisting of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan comp ...

and the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

, met from January 8, 1947, to March 13, 1948, during the fifth and sixth years of

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

's governorship, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1938, re-apportioned in 1943, 56 Senators and 150 assemblymen 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), Bronx (five), Queens (four), Erie (three), Westchester (three), Monroe (two) and Nassau (two). The Assembly districts consisted either of a single entire county (except Hamilton Co.), or of contiguous area within one county. At this time there were two major political parties: the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

and the Democratic Party. The

American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of A ...

, the Liberal Party and the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

also nominated tickets.

Elections

The New York state election, 1946, was held on November 5. Governor

and Lieutenant Governor Joe R. Hanley were re-elected, both Republicans. The other five statewide elective offices up for election were carried by four Republicans, and the Democratic Chief Judge with Republican, American Labor and Liberal endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 2,826,000; Democrats 1,532,000; American Labor 429,000; Liberals 177,000; and Communists 90,000. All four women members of the previous legislature—State Senator

Rhoda Fox Graves Rhoda Fox Graves (July 2, 1877 – January 25, 1950) was a suffragist, women's rights activist, and early female Republican party politician from St. Lawrence County, New York in the United States. Graves was the first woman to serve in the New ...

(Rep.), of Gouverneur; and Assemblywomen Mary A. Gillen (Dem.), of

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 ...

; Gladys E. Banks (Rep.), of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

; and

Genesta M. Strong Genesta M. Strong (November 29, 1885 – June 29, 1972) was an American politician from New York. Life She was born Genesta Mitchell on November 29, 1885, in Brooklyn. On September 12, 1906, she married Ernest Melvin Strong (1881–1961), and the ...

(Rep.), of Plandome Heights—were re-elected.

Janet Hill Gordon Janet Hill Gordon (January 11, 1915 – September 17, 1990) was an American lawyer and politician. Life She was born Janet Hill on January 11, 1915 in Manhattan, the daughter of James P. Hill (1878–1950) and Florine Hill. Her father was Presidin ...

(Rep.), a lawyer of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

;

Elizabeth Hanniford Elizabeth Hanniford (January 1, 1909 – December 1977) was an American politician from New York. Life Elizabeth Hanniford was born on January 1, 1909, in New York City. She attended public schools, and then became a statistician. She married Ken ...

(Rep.), a statistician of

; Mildred F. Taylor (Rep.), a coal dealer of

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

; and Maude E. Ten Eyck (Rep.), of

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 ...

; were also elected to the Assembly. The New York state election, 1947, was held on November 4. No statewide elective offices were up for election. Four vacancies in the State Senate, and four vacancies in the Assembly were filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 170th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1947; and adjourned on March 18.

Oswald D. Heck Oswald David Heck (February 13, 1902 – May 21, 1959) was an American lawyer and politician. To date he has been the longest-serving Speaker of the New York State Assembly, and he was the last Speaker from Upstate New York. Life He was born on F ...

(Rep.) was re-elected

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. Benjamin F. Feinberg (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 171st) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 7, 1948; and adjourned on March 13.''LEGISLATURE LETS RENT LAWS STAND AS SESSION CLOSES''
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on March 14, 1948 (subscription required)

State Senate

Districts

Members

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. MacNeil Mitchell, Sidney A. Fine and George T. Manning changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Assemblyman Ernest I. Hatfield was elected to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Clerk:

William S. King William Smith King (December 16, 1828 – February 24, 1900) was a Republican U.S. Representative for Minnesota from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1877. He was a journalist and businessman. He is best known for allegations of political corrup ...

* Sergeant-at-Arms: Harold W. Cole

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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

Employees

* Clerk: Ansley B. Borkowski

Notes

Sources

''Know Your Legislators''
in ''The State Employee'' (January 1947, Vol. 16, No. 1, pg. 16f and 23)

at Political Graveyard

at Political Graveyard {{NYLegislatures

166 Year 166 ( CLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pudens and Pollio (or, less frequently, year 919 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

1947 in New York (state) 1948 in New York (state) 1947 U.S. legislative sessions 1948 U.S. legislative sessions