The 173rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 1961, to March 31, 1962, during the third and fourth years of Nelson Rockefeller's

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, in Albany.

Background

Under the provisions of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

of 1938, re-apportioned in 1953, 58 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), Queens (five), Bronx (four), Erie (three), Nassau (three), Westchester (three), Monroe (two) and Onondaga (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 and the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

also nominated tickets.

Elections

The 1960 New York state election, was held on November 8. The only two statewide elective offices were two seats on the New York Court of Appeals. Two Republican judges were elected, Stanley H. Fuld with Democratic and Liberal endorsement; and Sydney F. Foster with Liberal endorsement. The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the average vote for the judges on the different tickets, was: Republicans 3,281,000; Democrats 3,247,000; and Liberals 413,000. Four of the seven women members of the previous legislature—State Senator

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 See of Norwich, with ...

; and Assemblywomen Bessie A. Buchanan (Dem.), a retired musical actress and dancer of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

;

Dorothy Bell Lawrence Dorothy Bell Lawrence (September 14, 1911 – May 1973) was an American politician from New York. Life She was born Dorothy Fleming Bell on September 14, 1911, in Augusta, Georgia, the daughter of Harry Rushton Bell. She graduated from Augusta Tra ...

(Rep.), a former school teacher 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 ...

; and Aileen B. Ryan (Dem.), a former school teacher 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 Y ...

—were re-elected. The New York state election, 1961, was held on November 7. No statewide elective offices were up for election. Three vacancies in the Assembly were filled.

Sessions

The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 184th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 4, 1961; and adjourned on March 25. Joseph F. Carlino (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: ** I ...

. Walter J. Mahoney (Rep.) was re-elected Temporary President of the State Senate. The Legislature met for a special session at the State Capitol in Albany on August 21, 1961; and adjourned after a session of six hours. This session was called to consider legislation concerning New York City's school system. The Legislature met for another special session at the State Capitol in Albany on November 9, 1961; and adjourned on the next day. This session was called to consider legislation concerning the creation of

fallout shelter A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. During ...

s at schools and colleges, and the re-apportionment of New York's congressional districts under the 1960 U.S. census. The Legislature met for the second regular session (the 185th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 3, 1962; and adjourned on March 31.

State Senate

Districts

Senators

The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. Ivan Warner changed from the Assembly to the Senate at the beginning of this Legislature. Note: For brevity, the chairmanships omit the words "...the Committee on (the)..."

Employees

* Secretary: John J. Sandler, died on March 4, 1961 ** William S. King, acting from March 4 to May 4, 1961 ** John J. Sullivan, from May 4, 1961''J. J. Sullivan Appointed As Senate Secy.''
in ''The Times Record'', of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

, on May 4, 1961

State Assembly

Assemblymen

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)..."

Employees

* Clerk:

Ansley B. Borkowski Ansley Bernard Borkowski (January 15, 1898 – December 1, 1992) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. Life He was born on January 15, 1898, in Buffalo, New York. He attended Canisius High School and Canisius Coll ...

* Sergeant-at-Arms: Raymond J. Roche * Deputy Journal Clerk: Maude E. Ten Eyck

Notes

Sources

''N.Y. Legislature Remains In Control of Republicans''
in the ''Tonawanda News'', of Tonawanda, on November 9, 1960
Members of the New York Senate (1960s)
at Political Graveyard

at Political Graveyard {{NYLegislatures

173 Year 173 ( CLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Pompeianus (or, less frequently, year 926 ''Ab urbe c ...

1961 in New York (state) 1962 in New York (state) 1961 U.S. legislative sessions 1962 U.S. legislative sessions