Perry Belmont Duryea Jr. (October 18, 1921 – January 11, 2004) was an American politician. A Republican, Duryea was a longtime member of the

New York State Assembly 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 Ass ...

. He served as speaker of the Assembly from 1969 to 1973 and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of New York in 1978.

Life and career

Duryea was born on October 18, 1921, in Montauk,

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

, the son of Perry B. Duryea Sr. (1891–1968). Duryea Sr. ran a wholesale seafood business, and later was a state senator and State Conservation Commissioner. Duryea Jr. attended East Hampton High School and graduated from

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

in 1942. He attained the rank of lieutenant commander in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

as a pilot of the U.S. Naval Air Transport Service, and entered the family business full-time after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1944 Duryea married Elizabeth Ann Weed with whom he had two children, Lynn Duryea born in 1947 and Perry B. Duryea III born in 1949. The Duryeas divorced in 1990. Perry Duryea subsequently married Marie Therese Duryea. Duryea was a Republican member of the

from 1961 to 1978. On December 13, 1965, he was elected Minority Leader to replace George L. Ingalls at the beginning of the session of 1966. Duryea served as Assembly Minority Leader until becoming

Speaker of the New York State Assembly The speaker of the New York State Assembly is the highest official in the New York State Assembly, customarily elected from the ranks of the majority party. As in most countries with a British heritage, the speaker presides over the lower hous ...

; he held that position from 1969 to 1973 and served as Minority Leader again from 1974 to 1978. After the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

the Republicans lost their majority in the Assembly, and Duryea remains the last Republican speaker of the New York assembly. Duryea was active in fighting against development of eastern

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

including a successful fight in 1967 to stop plans to turn the Grumman Assembly Plant in

Calverton, New York Calverton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on eastern Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 6,510 at the 2010 census. Most of Calverton is in the Town of Riverhead, while the area south of t ...

into the fourth major airport in metropolitan New York City. Duryea was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention 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 constituti ...

of 1967, and a member of the New York Republican State Central Committee in 1968. Duryea was indicted for alleged election law violations in 1973, but charges were dropped. He was the defendant in People v. Duryea, 76 Misc.2d 948, 351 N.Y.S.2d 978 (1974), affirmed 44 A.D.2d 663, 354 N.Y.S.2d 129 (1974), a case about the right to anonymous free speech, later cited with approval in McIntyre v Ohio Election Commission (1995). In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, Duryea was the Republican candidate for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, but lost to the incumbent

Hugh Carey Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney of the Democratic Party who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1961 to 1974 and as the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. Early ...

. During the campaign, he had called for juveniles to be tried as adults for certain violent crimes, a move steadfastly opposed by Carey. The situation was dramatically altered, however, when

Willie Bosket William James Bosket Jr. (born December 9, 1962) is an American convicted murderer, whose numerous crimes committed while he was still a minor led to a change in New York (state), New York state law, so that juveniles as young as 13 could be trie ...

, a 15-year-old from

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 ...

, murdered three people in the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

and was only sentenced to five years in a state youth facility. The outcry over such a lenient sentence led Carey to reverse course and support a law allowing juveniles as young as 13 to be tried as adults. A New York State office building in

Hauppauge Hauppauge ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in western Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island. Its population in 2022 was estimated at 20,401 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the official ...

, was renamed the Perry B Duryea Jr State Office Building at the request of Suffolk County Court Judge, the Hon. Martin J Kerins. The post office in Montauk, New York was renamed the Perry B. Duryea Jr. Post Office. Duryea died on January 11, 2004, in

Southampton Hospital Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, centrally located in the Village of Southampton, New York, is a 125-bed hospital accredited by the Joint Commission. A location of Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital is a New York State-desi ...

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stre ...

, from injuries suffered in a car accident and was buried at the Fort Hill Cemetery in Montauk.

Sources

External links

Colgate University ObituaryM. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duryea, Perry B. Jr. 1921 births 2004 deaths Speakers of the New York State Assembly Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Colgate University alumni Road incident deaths in New York (state) People from Montauk, New York Candidates in the 1978 United States elections East Hampton High School alumni 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature