The 24 new legislators in Albany this year

There are 20 members of the Assembly and 4 senators who haven’t previously served in Albany
By Bill Mahoney | 01/08/2025 05:00 AM EST

The New York state Assembly Chamber is seen during a legislative session at the state Capitol on Jan. 16, 2024, in Albany, New York. | Hans Pennink/APALBANY, New York —

There will be 24 first-time members in the state Legislature on Wednesday as members start the new session for the year.

That includes 20 new members in the Assembly, where Democrats have a 103-47 majority, and four new legislators in the Senate, where the Democratic edge is 41-22. In addition to those first timers, freshman Sen. Pat Fahy, who previously served six terms in an Albany Assembly district, and Assemblymember Judy Griffin, who won back the Nassau seat she lost in 2022, are bringing new representation to their districts.Here’s a look at the Legislature’s first-time members.

SenateDistrict 6 (Nassau County): Siela Bynoe (D)Previous Occupant: Kevin Thomas (D), left to briefly pursue a run for Congress Bynoe previously served a stint on Westbury’s Board of Education and has been a Nassau County legislator since 2014. During her time in that post, she fought for body cameras for county police and more spending on water quality.

District 17 (Brooklyn): Stephen Chan (R)Previous Occupant: Iwen Chu (D), defeated by Chan in the general Chan was the only candidate to oust an incumbent member of the Senate this year and was the first Republican to win a Senate seat in a borough besides Staten Island in six years.

Chan is a former sergeant in the NYPD. The first Asian-American member of the Senate’s Republican conference, his campaign focused on issues such as opposition to a new Bensonhurst homeless shelter.

District 50 (Syracuse’s suburbs and Watertown): Chris Ryan (D)Previous Occupant: John Mannion (D), elected to Congress Ryan won the battleground district by less than 1 percentage point — and with that being a larger margin than Mannion’s victory in 2022, he’s sure to spend his first term as the Senate GOP’s top political target. The freshman has spent 13 years on the Onondaga County legislature, most recently as its minority leader. He has also served as president of Communications Workers of America Local 1123.

District 63 (Buffalo): April McCants-Baskin (D)Previous Occupant: Tim Kennedy (D), elected to Congress Baskin has been the majority leader of Erie County’s legislature since 2018. She has worked to ensure that local MWBE and veteran-owned businesses receive contracts as the new Bills stadium is constructed.

Assembly District 1 (Suffolk County): Tommy John Schiavoni (D)Previous occupant: Fred Thiele (D), retired Schiavoni has worked at his family’s plumbing and heating business and spent three decades as a high school government and history teacher. He’s been on Southampton’s town board since 2017.He characterizes Thiele, a longtime Albany moderate, as a “mentor” and says his top priorities include education funding and open space preservation.

District 4 (Suffolk County): Rebecca Kassay (D)Previous occupant: Ed Flood (R), defeated by Kassay in the general Kassay is the deputy mayor of Port Jefferson and has served as a trustee there since 2020. She runs a bed and breakfast in the village. She says she’s focused on ending a status quo in which “Albany has thought of Long Island as its piggy bank” and will fight for more funding for the Long Island Rail Road and schools.

District 11 (Nassau and Suffolk counties): Kwani O’Pharrow (D)Previous occupant: Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D), retired O’Pharrow served in the Navy before beginning a 25-year career as an NYPD detective. He’s also worked as a school safety officer and boxing coach. The Democrat won a 900-vote victory against Republican Joe Cardinale, who focused on bail reform. O’Pharrow honed in on affordability during his run and says he’s open to congestion pricing “if it meant upgrading the Long Island Rail Road.”

District 16 (Nassau County): Daniel Norber (R)Previous occupant: Gina Sillitti (D), defeated by Norber in the general Norber was the second Israel Defense Forces veteran backed by Nassau Republicans in 2024. Unlike congressional candidate Mazi Pilip, he won, flipping a Great Neck district that has been held by Democrats such as Tom DiNapoli for over half a century.The Assemblymember-elect campaigned on issues such as antisemitism, undoing bail reform and opposing congestion pricing.

District 18 (Nassau County): Noah Burroughs (D)Previous occupant: Taylor Darling (D), left to launch an unsuccessful Senate bid Burroughs started his career in the NFL, joining the New York Jets for the team’s 2001 training camp as a safety. He went on to spend 20 years as a coach and history teacher at a Hempstead high school and started a term as a village trustee in 2022.His priorities include water quality infrastructure and creating tax breaks to encourage more restaurants and other local businesses to open on Long Island.

District 35 (Queens): Larinda Hooks (D)Previous occupant: Jeff Aubry (D), retiredAubry endorsed Hooks the same day he announced the end of his 32-year career in Albany, helping her fend off a comeback bid from the widely-despised Hiram Monserrate in the primary. Hooks has previously worked at Elmcor, a youth and senior services organization, and at the East Elmhurst-Corona Civic Association. She identifies her top priority as creating “truly affordable housing for working-class and low income families” and spurring “additional housing development.”

District 37 (Queens): Claire Valdez (D)Previous occupant: Juana Ardila (D), defeated by Valdez in the primary Valdez was the lone candidate to knock out an incumbent state legislator in this year’s primaries — she was helped by the fact that Ardila lost all establishment support following a sexual misconduct scandal. She’s a member of the New York City DSA who has worked in Columbia University’s visual arts department and at a sculpture gallery. A UAW organizer, her focuses include issues such as climate change and housing.

District 41 (Brooklyn): Kalman Yeger (D)Previous occupant: Helene Weinstein (D), retired Yeger has been involved in New York City politics for decades and has worked for efforts such as former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer’s 2005 mayoral bid. He has served in the New York City Council since 2018, where he’s often been an ally of Mayor Eric Adams. Yeger will be a member of the Legislature’s growing Orthodox Jewish delegation and has widely been identified as a conservative Democrat.

District 69 (Manhattan): Micah Lasher (D)Previous occupant: Danny O’Donnell (D), retired Lasher is the only incoming legislator whose political resume is as long as Yeger’s. He previously worked as former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’spoint person in Albany, the chief of staff for former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s director of policy. Lasher has also had stints at a charter school group and Google’s urban planning subsidiary.

District 70 (Harlem): Jordan Wight (D)Previous Occupant: Inez Dickens (D), retired Wright handily won a four-way primary for the open seat. He had a massive advantage in establishment support — including that of his father, Manhattan Democratic chair and former Assemblymember Keith Wright. The new assemblymember has identified his top focuses in Albany as the environment, housing and workforce development. He says he sees himself as a “bridge-builder” rather than a moderate or progressive.

District 85 (the Bronx): Emerita Torres (D)Previous Occupant: Kenny Burgos (D), retired Burgos announced his resignation in July, meaning his replacement was chosen by party leaders rather than in a primary. They backed Torres, who has worked at the non-profit Community Service Society. She was previously a diplomat with the Department of State in countries like Pakistan, Colombia and Brazil.

District 96 (Rockland County): Patrick Carroll (D)Previous Occupant: Ken Zebrowski (D), retired Carroll has been the only Democrat on Clarkstown’s town board since 2017. He previously served as an administrative law judge for the DMV and says he wants to fight “reckless overdevelopment” and secure education funding.

District 97 (Rockland County): Aron Wieder (D)Previous Occupant: John McGowan (R), defeated by Wieder in the general Wieder was previously a member of East Ramapo’s school board and has been on Rockland County’s Legislature since 2011. This year was at least his fourth time running for the Assembly seat. Wieder, who is Hasidic, has opposed the state’s regulations on yeshivas. He runs a business that sells ritual fruit used on Sukkot.

District 100 (Monticello and nearby areas): Paula Kay (D)Previous Occupant: Aileen Gunther (D), retiredKay previously worked as Gunther’s legislative director. She says she wants to focus on bringing more healthcare providers into her district and wants to overhaul the state’s bail reforms.District 109 (Albany): Gabriella Romero (D)Previous occupant: Pat Fahy (D), elected to the SenateRomero has been an Albany County public defender since 2018 and a member of the city’s Common Council since 2022. She won a six-way primary to replace Fahy, thanks in part to support from the Working Families Party. She started her tenure by questioning Hochul’s plan for relief checks, saying that “one shot checks” might not do as much as larger-scale investments by the state.

District 133 (Livingston County and surrounding areas): Andrea Bailey (R)Previous occupant: Marjorie Byrnes (R), retired Bailey has served on the Geneseo Town Board and has been Livingston County’s clerk since 2021. She says her priorities include expanding broadband access to rural communities and slowing the rollout of the state’s green energy agenda.

District 143 (suburban Buffalo): Pat Chludzinski (R)Previous occupant: Monica Wallace (D), defeated by Chludzinski in the general Chludzinski is an Army veteran who has been a member of the Cheektowaga Police Department for 25 years. He campaigned in support of Albany passing tough-on-crime legislation. And he says he wants Mayor Adams to reimburse local schools for the services they’ve provided undocumented immigrants who have been bused to his district by New York City.

District 144 (eastern Niagara and Erie Counties): Paul Bologna (R)Previous occupant: Mike Norris (R), retired The retirement of Norris came very late in the cycle — he was endorsed for a judgeship in August and ended his reelection campaign less than 12 weeks before the vote. Party leaders replaced him on the Assembly ballot with Bologna, a staffer for the district under Norris and his predecessor Jane Corwin.

District 148 (the Southern Tier): Joe Sempolinski (R)Previous occupant: Joe Giglio (R), retired Sempolinski served in Congress for 112 days when he finished off Tom Reed’s term in 2022. He returned to his job as a staffer for Giglio after the conclusion of his term — the second-briefest ever for a New Yorker in the House. He immediately won establishment support for Giglio’s seat once the member announced his retirement plans, and he’s now the first former federal representative to serve in Albany’s Legislature in over a century. The lone bill that Sempolinski authored during his short tenure in Washington would have made the Smithsonian Institution subject to FOIA. He has also cited helping people with disabilities as a top priority.

District 150 (the western Southern Tier): Andrew Molitor (R)Previous occupant: Andy Goodell (R), retired Molitor previously worked in the Chautauqua County district attorney’s office. He says he wants to target “short-sighted and thoughtless laws” from Albany in areas like criminal justice.