Albany to get 'significant jolt' with wave of departures in NYS Legislature

ALBANY — This year is set to go down as one of the biggest turnover years for the New York State Legislature in recent memory.

A combination of retirements, politicians looking to move up the ladder and a new cap on lawmakers’ outside incomes have guaranteed that, at minimum, 30 seats will change hands.

That number could go even higher, with a number of New York City-based state Assembly incumbents facing primaries in June and the potential for seats to flip in the fall elections.

"This is something I have never seen here before," said Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), who is in his 22nd year in office and is running again.

In the 63-member State Senate, five incumbents aren’t running for reelection. In the 150-member Assembly, it’s 25 — meaning at least a 17% turnover when the 2027 legislative session opens in January.

"It’s going to be a significant jolt in Albany, to lose so many members in one fell swoop — especially in the Assembly," said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

 "The loss of seniority has to impact the functioning of the [Democratic] conference" that controls the Assembly, he said. "It could mean new committee chairs. It could mean new people in leadership positions. And everyone is different, so they're going to bring their own issues. That's not necessarily bad, but it will be different."

The overall philosophical direction of the Democrat-led legislature isn’t likely to change greatly, Lavine said. That's in part because a legislative body that has 150 members, as the Assembly does, has to rely on a strong central staff that supplies institutional knowledge and legal guidance to newcomers.

Horner, a longtime watchdog at the State Capitol, said typically high-turnover years are tied to the once-a-decade redistricting process, when district lines must be redrawn to sync with new census data. But lines aren’t being shifted this year.

Leadership exits

There are some significant departures coming.

Neither house leader is leaving, but the No. 2 people are.

Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo) are leaving after long runs in Albany. It will set off internal Democrat scrimmages for the highly coveted posts.

"I think you get to these moments where it's time for generational change," said Gianaris, who has been in the Senate since 2011 and, before that, served 10 years in the Assembly. He noted Democrats were in the minority in the Senate when he arrived but since have built a nearly 2-1 majority (41-22), making leaving an easier decision.

"The fight, for those of us who were around then, was to get the majority and establish a lasting, strong, functional majority and we've done that," he said. "It seems time to hand off the baton."

He noted that his reasons for leaving include having two small children at home and a 92-year-old mother. He said he has no income outside of the legislature and the cap wasn't a factor. 

Rank-and-file also will vie for some of the coveted committee posts, such as the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, currently led by Assemb. Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), and the Senate Housing and Community Development Committee, led by Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D-Manhattan). Neither is seeking reelection.

Within the Long Island delegation, Sens. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury) and Alexis Weik (R-Sayville) won’t seek reelection.

Assemb. David McDonough (R-Merrick), 89, is retiring. Newsday previously reported he has missed more than 100 votes in 2026, has primarily voted via video conference over the last few years and hasn’t reported actually showing up at the Capitol in more than two years.

Assemb. Keith Brown (R-Northport) and Daniel Norber (R-Great Neck) also aren’t running again.

Assemb. Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville) is leaving the Assembly to run for Weik’s seat. Assemb. Jake Blumencranz (R-Oyster Bay) is leaving the Assembly to run for Martins’ seat.

All told, 11 departures are a case of someone running for a higher office — State Senate or Congress.

The other 19 largely involve people ending long careers. But Horner said the new outside income limit is bound to be another factor, even if only one departing legislator has said so.

Income limit

The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, caps legislators’ outside incomes at $35,000. The law also included a pay raise, making legislators' annual base salary $142,000 (with extra stipends for leadership posts) and making New York lawmakers the best paid in the nation.

Brown, in his announcement, didn’t give a particular reason for deciding not to run again. His recent financial disclosure filings with the state ethics commission show has been earning about $600,000 annually as a partner in a law firm he leads.

Norber, in a February statement, said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family. His 2024 financial disclosure shows he earned at least $250,000 a year from being the sole proprietor of Lions Den Enterprises and that he owned several warehouses.

Martins’ 2024 financial disclosure shows he earned at least $550,000 that year as a law firm partner.

The one lawmaker who openly cited the income limit in his decision is Assemb. Nader Sayegh (D-Yonkers), a personal injury lawyer.

Horner said the number of state legislators with six-figure outside incomes actually has declined over the past two decades when there was no limit, with far more now listing legislator as their main or sole source of a regular paycheck.

"It’s a good thing," Lavine said of the outside income cap. "People who are elected to be here owe their priorities to the people of the district they represent, not their own business interests."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy