NY State Senate Bill 2017-S5570

Senate Bill S5570

Signed By Governor

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Directs the office of general services to install and maintain a commemorative plaque in the Capitol honoring Samuel J. Abbott

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - Signed by Governor

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jul 25, 2017	signed chap.104
Jul 13, 2017	delivered to governor
Jun 19, 2017	returned to senate passed assembly ordered to third reading rules cal.447 substituted for a7731
Jun 14, 2017	referred to governmental operations delivered to assembly passed senate
May 22, 2017	advanced to third reading
May 17, 2017	2nd report cal.
May 16, 2017	1st report cal.1013
Apr 13, 2017	referred to investigations and government operations

Votes

- Jun 14, 2017 - Floor Vote
  S5570
  
  63
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 14, 2017
      
      aye (63)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Alcantara
      
      Amedore
      
      Avella
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Bonacic
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Croci
      
      DeFrancisco
      
      Diaz
      
      Dilan
      
      Felder
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Golden
      
      Griffo
      
      Hamilton
      
      Hannon
      
      Helming
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jacobs
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kennedy
      
      Klein
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Larkin
      
      Latimer
      
      Little
      
      Marcellino
      
      Marchione
      
      Montgomery
      
      Murphy
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Parker
      
      Peralta
      
      Persaud
      
      Phillips
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Seward
      
      Squadron
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Valesky
      
      Young
  May 16, 2017 - Investigations And Government Operations Committee Vote
  S5570
  
  9
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Investigations And Government Operations Committee Vote: May 16, 2017
      
      aye (9)
      
      Carlucci
      
      Diaz
      
      Golden
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Lanza
      
      Murphy
      
      O'Mara
      
      Phillips
      
      Squadron

2017-S5570 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7731
Law Section:: Public Buildings Law
Laws Affected:: Add §5-c, Pub Bldg L

2017-S5570 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the office of general services to install and maintain a commemorative plaque in the capitol honoring Samuel J. Abbott.

2017-S5570 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S5570

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public buildings law, in relation to directing the
office of general services to install and maintain a commemorative
plaque in the Capitol honoring Samuel J. Abbott

 PURPOSE :

To provide for the installation of a commemorative plaque
memorializing Samuel J. Abbott, the watchman who lost his life in the
1911 New York State Capitol fire.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1. Provides the history of Samuel Abbott's life of
distinguished public service and the legislative intent to memorialize
Samuel Abbott's life and his loss of life while serving the people of
the state of New York in that Mr. Abbott's life and service has not
previously been fully recognized.

Section 2. Provides that a Samuel J. Abbott commemorative plaque
honoring Samuel J. Abbott, bearing his likeness and describing his
service and sacrifice to the people of New York, be designed and
placed in the Capitol in a manner as determined jointly by the

Commissioner of General Services and the Commission on Restructuring
of the Capitol.

Section 3. Provides for an immediate effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

At 2:42 a.m., on March 29, 1911, Fire Box 324 was pulled, notifying
the City of Albany Fire Department of a fire at the state Capitol.
Firefighters, operating with horse-drawn pumpers, arrived at the
Capitol to find a roaring inferno. Investigators would later determine
that the fire originated in the third-floor Assembly Library,
spreading quickly to the adjacent State Library, before engulfing the
building's fourth and fifth floors. According to reports at the time,
the building, known as "one of the most costly and celebrated
buildings constructed in 19th-century America," had been burning
without impediment for at least thirty minutes prior to the alarm.

According to the March 29, 1911 edition of the Albany Evening Journal,
at approximately 3 a.m., shortly after the fire alarm sounded at the
Capitol, Mr. Samuel J. Abbott, a 78-year-old Night Watchman in the
building, "was seen by an orderly opening some windows." Mr. Abbott, a
Civil War hero and devoted public servant, had worked at the Capitol
since 1895, his territory comprised of three floors of the State
Library. He would leave home about 9 o'clock each night, go to the
library, lock himself in and remain until 6 a.m.  when he returned
home.

When friends heard the alarm and realized that the Capitol was on
fire, they immediately thought of the safety of Mr. Abbott. After
first being told by another watchman that Mr. Abbott had been seen and
was "all right," they became concerned as hour after hour went by and
he failed to appear. Two days later, on March 31, Mr. Abbott's
partially burned body was found in a narrow passageway on the fourth
floor. His silver-handled cane was discovered a short distance away,
and in his pocket remained a key to a locked door just a few paces
further, through which he might have escaped.

Samuel Abbott had served in Company E of the 12th New York State
Volunteer Infantry, also was known as the Onondaga County Regiment,
the Independence Guard, and The Dozen. Mr. Abbott was recorded as
holding the ranks of Ensign, Second Lieutenant (May 13, 1861-August 3,
1861), and First Lieutenant (August 2, 1861-September 19, 1861) and he
was later described in the Albany Evening Journal as having "an
enviable war record."

His funeral service was held at St. Peter's Church in Albany on April
1, and was described in the Times Union as "one of the most largely
attended funerals ever held in this church." The commanders of
Albany's four Grand Army of the Republic posts served as pallbearers,
and Gov. John A. Dix was in attendance, along with "representatives
from every department in the Capitol." In August 1912, the Legislature
allocated $280.16 for "George W. Abbott, son of the late Samuel J.
Abbott, an employee of the department of education, who lost his life
in the Capitol fire, for funeral and burial expenses, and other
expenses incidental to the finding of the body.

Regrettably, this remains the extent of the state's appreciation for
Mr. Abbott's service and sacrifice.

The Capitol fire was the second catastrophic fire within one week in
the state. Just four days prior, on March 25, 1911, 600 workers, the
vast majority of whom were women, were working at the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory in New York City when a fire began in a rag bin.
The factory had a history of notorious anti-worker policies and
violations, and attempts to use a factory fire hose to extinguish the
initial blaze were unsuccessful, as the hose was rotted and its valve
was rusted shut.

Many young workers tried to exit the building using the elevator, but
it had space only for 12 people and the operator was only able to make
four trips up and down. Girls who fled via the stairwells found a
locked door at the bottom, resulting in many being burned alive and
workers above the fire, including the factory's owners, escaped via
the roof. Those who did not make it to the stairwells or the elevator
began to jump from the windows, but their bodies fell on the hoses,
complicating efforts to extinguish the blaze. Efforts were further
complicated because firefighters' ladders reached only seven floors
high, and the fire was on the eighth floor. Several life nets tore
when multiple girls jumped at once, and the remaining nets proved
mostly ineffective; within 18 minutes, the fire had claimed the lives
of 145 workers.

Samuel Abbott lost his life in service to the people of New York
State, yet his sacrifice has never been fully recognized at the
Capitol. His tragic passing, along with the lives lost in the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory fire, together spurred a wave of workplace safety
laws, including the Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention Law.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.

2017-S5570 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5570
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 13, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  YOUNG  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the public buildings law, in relation to  directing  the
   office  of  general  services  to install and maintain a commemorative
   plaque in the Capitol honoring Samuel J. Abbott

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that at
 2:42 a.m., on March 29, 1911, Fire Box 324  was  pulled,  notifying  the
 City  of Albany Fire Department of a fire at the State Capitol. Investi-
 gators would later determine that the fire originated in the third-floor
 Assembly Library, spreading  quickly  to  the  adjacent  State  Library,
 before  engulfing  the  building's fourth and fifth floors. According to
 reports, the building, known at the time as "one of the most costly  and
 celebrated  buildings  constructed  in  19th-century  America", had been
 burning without impediment for at least  thirty  minutes  prior  to  the
 alarm.   Firefighters, operating with horse-drawn pumpers, found a roar-
 ing inferno when they arrived on scene.
   The mammoth fire burned so forcefully that it twisted metal framing in
 the iconic skylight above the Great Western Staircase, sending the glass
 panels raining down on the stairs below; the stairway's carved sandstone
 filigree melted, and at  the  top  of  the  "Million-Dollar  Staircase",
 prized   archaeological  objects,  including  the  State's  world-famous
 Iroquois collection, were consumed by  flames.  When  extinguished,  the
 fire had decimated the entire collection of the State Library, with more
 than 800,000 books and manuscripts being lost.
   According to the March 29, 1911 edition of the ALBANY EVENING JOURNAL,
 at  approximately  3  a.m.,  shortly after the fire alarm sounded at the
 Capitol, Mr. Samuel J. Abbott, a 78-year-old watchman in  the  building,
 "was seen by an orderly opening some windows".

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD10738-02-7

 S. 5570                             2
 
   Samuel J. Abbott was born in September 1833, one of at least five boys
 and four girls born to William B. and Lucretia A. Abbott. William Abbott
 had  a  stave  and  barrel  factory where Samuel and his brother, Henry,
 worked off-and-on as turners and coopers. During the Civil  War,  Samuel
 Abbott served in Company E of the 12th New York State Volunteer Infantry
 in the regiment that also was known as the Onondaga County Regiment, the
 Independence  Guard,  and  The Dozen. Mr. Abbott was recorded as holding
 the ranks of Ensign, Second Lieutenant (May 13,  1861-August  2,  1861),
 and  First  Lieutenant  (August  2,  1861-September 19, 1861) and he was
 later described in the ALBANY EVENING JOURNAL as having "an enviable war
 record".
   After the war, Samuel Abbott returned to the village of  Salina,  part
 of present day Syracuse, where he resumed his work at his father's shop.
 From  1867  through  1870, Mr. Abbott served as Postmaster at the Salina
 Post Office. He married Jane "Jennie" Utting, the  daughter  of  English
 immigrants  James  and  Sarah  Utting,  in 1867.   According to the 1860
 census, Jennie worked as a dressmaker. The couple was  blessed  with  at
 least  five  children,  three  of whom, Ellen "Nellie", born circa 1869,
 George W., born circa 1876, and Mabel E.,  born  circa  1880,  lived  to
 adulthood.
   Mr. and Mrs. Abbott were a noted couple in Syracuse. Samuel Abbott was
 a  member  of Root Post and the Grand Army of the Republic, while Jennie
 Abbott had been a prominent member of the Women's Relief Corps. In 1875,
 Samuel Abbott started working in the Office of the Overseer of the Poor,
 a position he held until 1894.
   In 1895, Samuel J. Abbott took a  job  as  a  watchman  in  the  State
 Library  at  the  Capitol  in Albany. Following the passing of his wife,
 Jennie, in January, 1911 Mr.  Abbott moved in  with  life-long  friends,
 Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas Behan, at 3 Washington Avenue. The ALBANY EVENING
 JOURNAL later reported that  Mr.  Abbott's,  "territory  as  watchman...
 comprised  three  floors of the State Library; he was wont to leave home
 about 9 p.m. each night, go to the library, lock himself in  and  remain
 until 6 a.m. when he returned home".
   When  Mr.  and Mrs. Behan, and, "several boarders were awakened by the
 fire alarm and realized that the Capitol was on fire,  they  immediately
 thought  of the safety of Mr. Abbott; àtwo of the men hustled right over
 to the scene of the fire; one of them went into the building  and  asked
 another watchman if he had seen Mr.  Abbott and the answer was 'Oh, yes,
 he's  all right. I saw him opening windows.' but hour after hour went by
 and he failed to appear". Two days later, on March  31st,  Mr.  Abbott's
 partially  burned  body  was  found in a narrow passageway on the fourth
 floor, his silver-handled cane a short distance  away.  In  his  pocket,
 remained  a  key to a locked door just a few paces away through which he
 might have escaped.
   According the TIMES UNION, his funeral service, held  at  St.  Peter's
 Church in Albany on April 1, 1912, "was one of the most largely attended
 funerals  ever  held  in this church".   The commanders of Albany's four
 Grand Army of the Republic posts served as pallbearers. Governor John A.
 Dix was in attendance, along with "representatives from every department
 in the Capitol". In August 1912, the Legislature allocated $280.16  for,
 "George W. Abbott, son of the late Samuel J.  Abbott, an employee of the
 department  of  education,  who  lost  his life in the Capitol fire, for
 funeral and burial expenses, and other expenses incidental to the  find-
 ing of the body".
   Samuel  Abbott  lost his life in service to the people of the state of
 New York, yet his sacrifice has never been fully recognized at the Capi-

 S. 5570                             3

 tol. His tragic passing, along with  the  lives  lost  in  the  Triangle
 Shirtwaist  Factory  fire,  together  spurred a wave of workplace safety
 laws, including the Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention  Law.  Now  therefore,
 the  state commission on the restructuring of the Capitol and the office
 of general services shall work in  conjunction  to  install  a  memorial
 plaque  bearing the likeness of Samuel Abbott and appropriately describ-
 ing Samuel Abbott's service and sacrifice to the citizens of  the  state
 of New York while performing his official duties.
   §  2.  The public buildings law is amended by adding a new section 5-c
 to read as follows:
   § 5-C. SAMUEL J. ABBOTT COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE. THERE SHALL BE INSTALLED
 AND MAINTAINED IN THE  CAPITOL,  A  COMMEMORATIVE  PLAQUE  HONORING  THE
 SERVICE  AND  SACRIFICE  OF SAMUEL J. ABBOTT TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE.
 SUCH PLAQUE SHALL BEAR THE LIKENESS  OF  SAMUEL  J.  ABBOTT,  INCLUDE  A
 DESCRIPTION OF HIS SERVICE AND SACRIFICE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE, AND
 BE  DESIGNED AND PLACED IN A MANNER AS DETERMINED JOINTLY BY THE COMMIS-
 SIONER OF GENERAL SERVICES AND THE COMMISSION ON  THE  RESTRUCTURING  OF
 THE CAPITOL.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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