Erastus Corning II (1902-1983) [Section 21 Lot 2]
Longest Serving Mayor of Albany and the United States, NYS Senator, Assemblyman, the namesake of Corning Tower and Corning Preserve, great-grandson of Erastus Corning Jr.
Erastus Corning II was born on October 7, 1909, in Albany to Louise Maxwell and Edwin Corning. The eldest of four children, he comes from a political family that spans five generations. He is the great-grandson of Erastus Corning, former mayor of Albany, NYS Senator, and U.S. Congressman. His father, Edwin, and uncle Parker Corning were involved in politics, establishing the Albany Democratic machine with Daniel O’Connell, and served as Lieutenant Governor from 1927 – 1928 under Governor Alfred E. Smith. His uncle, Parker Corning, served as a U.S. Congressman.
As a youth, Corning attended Albany Academy, Groton School, and Yale University, graduating in 1932. That same year he married Elizabeth Platt, of Philadelphia. Elizabeth also had familial connections to Albany, which included mayors of the City of Albany. Together they had two children.
Early in his career Corning established an insurance company but soon sought after political office. In 1935 he was elected into the New York Assembly, two years later in the Senate. In 1941 he was elected ted the mayor of Albany, which was previously occupied by John Boyd Thacher, who resigned to become a judge of the children’s court. Erastus, who was elected one month before Pearl Harbor, serve the next 41 years as mayor of the City of Albany, being the longest-serving mayor of Albany or any other big city in the United States.
Corning took a leave of absence in 1944 to serve in the U.S. Army, where he received the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge as a member of the 2nd Infantry Division.
Seeking statewide office, in 1946 he ran on the Democratic line for Lieutenant Governor of New York alongside James Mead. However, they were unsuccessful in defeating Republican incumbents, Gov. Thomas Dewey, and Joe Hanley.
Corning was originally opposed to the South Mall state office building complex, proposed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. However, after an unsuccessful court battle, he joined him on the project as Corning’s support was crucial in arranging support for financing of the project which has since defined the skyline of downtown Albany. In 1983, the first year of Mario Cuomo’s tenure as Governor, the Legislature named the tallest building “The Corning Towner” in honor of him.
The creation of 787 also changed downtown by cutting off the resident’s access to the waterfront. In the late 1960s, Corning sought the advice of civil engineers to come up with a plan to better utilize the waterfront area. He worked with the planning department on incorporating green space along the water, creating lagoons divided by walkways, and even allowed for farmers to grow crops. In 1978, 11 acres of what is today the Corning Preserve opened. Today it has been expanded upon to go north to Menands.
In November of 1981, he was elected for an 11th term, receiving over 70% of the vote. By this time, his health began to fail and died on May 29, 1983, of cardio-pulmonary failure. Corning is interred in the Corning family plot, the largest family plot at Albany Rural Cemetery.