New York Politics: A Tale of Two States

by Edward V. Schneier, Antoinette Pole, Anthony Maniscalco

New York Politics examines aspects of state government that are often hidden in the secret sessions of the parties' legislative the closed-door budget; a complicated array of opaque agencies, authorities, and local governments; and a campaign finance system that lacks transparency. New York is unique among the American states in the existence of regional and demographic divisions, making it difficult to govern. Edward V. Schneier, Antoinette Pole, and Anthony Maniscalco bring clarity and understanding to the politics of the Empire State. This third edition of the leading textbook on New York politics combines historical, legal, statistical, and journalistic sources with the candid perspectives of legislators, lobbyists, and other public officials. Critical updates and new information include an analysis of the rise and fall of Governor Andrew Cuomo, coverage of growing demographic diversity in New York State and its government, and the impact of unified government when the legislature and executive branch are both controlled by the Democratic Party.

372 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2001

Reviews

[A. Jacob W. Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at NY Government. Sometimes the preference for progressive positions does come. Through, but on the whole has a lot of factual details.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the second edition of this book back in 2022 while, as I understand it, the authors were beginning work on this updated version. There are a great many changes here; most of which serve to update the book with more modern statistics, stories, and insights.

This is a textbook, first and foremost, but it is one that I think should be mandatory reading in New York politics. Some of what it offers is flatly boring, if you have any sort of preexisting knowledge of this world: how New York’s relationship with the federal government works, for example. Some other things are must read and are stories largely unknown to most New Yorkers: the battles over control of the assembly in the early 2000s, Al Smith and the complete overhaul of the state’s structure of government.

I hope that an eventual fourth edition will do more to talk about the state’s many executive agencies—each of which have their own diverse cultures and stories that demand to be told. For now, this third edition is a good starting place, and a monumental achievement.