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 Assembly convenes at the State Capitol in Albany.
History The 1777 and subsequent New York State Constitutions originally provided for assemblymen to be elected directly from their respective counties. This meant counties with more than one assembly seat, such as the Chautauqua County, functioned as multi-member districts. Plurality block voting was used. In 1846 transition was made to single-member districts.
In November 2025, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani became elected as the Mayor of New York City following being in the New York State Assembly for only one term.
Leadership of the Assembly The speaker of the Assembly presides over the Assembly. The Speaker is elected by the Majority Conference, followed by confirmation of the full Assembly through the passage of an Assembly Resolution. In addition to presiding over the body, the speaker also has the chief leadership position, and controls the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The minority leader is elected by party caucus. The majority leader of the Assembly is selected by, and serves, the speaker.
Democrat Carl Heastie of the 83rd Assembly District has served as speaker of the Assembly since February 2015. Crystal Peoples-Stokes of the 141st Assembly District has served as Assembly majority leader since December 2018. Republican Ed Ra of the 19th Assembly District has served as Assembly minority leader since February 9, 2026.
Position Name Dist. Speaker Carl Heastie 83 Majority leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes 141 Majority Whip Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn 42 Minority leader Ed Ra 19 Minority Whip David DiPietro 147
Composition by party The Assembly has been controlled by the Democratic Party since 1975.
AffiliationParty (Shading indicates Majority Conference)TotalVacant DemocraticRepublicanIndependenceConservativeEnd 2015–2016 session10441111473Start 2017–2018 session10643101500End 2017–2018 session102 1Asm. Erik Bohen (a registered Democrat who won an April 24, 2018 special election on the Republican Party line) was not a member of any caucus during his Assembly tenure.421464Start 2019–2020 session105 44101500End 2019–2020 session101 431455Start 2021–2022 session106 43 1 01500End 2021–2022 session10701491Start 2023–2024 session10248001500End 2023–2024 session1001482Start 2025–2026 session10347001500August 29, 20251021491November 4, 20251031500December 3, 20251021491December 31, 20251011482February 4, 20261031500Latest voting share
Members of the New York State Assembly