New York State Governor Hugh L. Carey Central Subject and Correspondence Files

This series is arranged by gubernatorial term and alphabetically by subject therein.

Hugh Leo Carey was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 11, 1919. He served with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II and graduated from both St. John's University and St. John's University Law School upon his return. In 1947, he married Helen Owen Twohy and together the couple raised fourteen children. Carey entered public service upon his election to Congress as a Democrat in 1960 and was reelected six times. He served on the House Education and Labor Committee, the Interior Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. He helped draft the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and advocated for federal revenue sharing and legislation to benefit the mentally ill and individuals with disabilities.

Carey was elected governor in 1974 by one of the largest pluralities in the state's history. He was reelected in 1978, but declined to run for a third term in 1982. Upon leaving office in early 1983, Carey returned to the private practice of law and has worked with several legal and financial firms in New York City. In 1993, he was appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission to represent the United States at various ceremonies commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II.

Upon taking office in 1975, Carey immediately confronted two crises: the class action law suit filed against the state on behalf of residents of Willowbrook Developmental Center; and the New York City fiscal crisis. In response to the former, Carey signed a court-approved consent decree and secured necessary state funding to completely overhaul the state's approach to the care of the developmentally disabled. On the latter issue, he successfully enlisted the support of the business community, organized labor, and the city, state, and federal governments in formulating a comprehensive economic recovery program for New York City.

On the environment, Carey won legislative approval for an act requiring that plans for large public and private development projects be accompanied by an environmental impact statement. He provided important leadership and secured crucial federal cooperation in resolving the Love Canal chemical landfill crisis and in cleaning up the West Valley nuclear waste site. Carey also revitalized the ailing Urban Development Corporation and used it as a tool to make the Battery Park City and Jacob Javits Convention Center projects a reality. Through the Capital Assistance Act of 1981, he succeeded in improving and modernizing New York City's mass transit system and the interconnected suburban commuter railroad network.

On budgetary matters, Carey practiced fiscal conservatism by limiting government spending, while still defending social welfare programs that benefited the less fortunate. In 1975, in conjunction with the state attorney general, he appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Medicaid fraud and waste in the state's heath care industry. Beginning in 1977, Carey lowered state taxes on businesses and individuals in an effort to attract and retain commerce in New York State. On criminal justice issues, Carey attempted to modify what he considered to be overly stringent "Rockefeller Drug Laws." He remained steadfast, both during and after his career in public service, in his opposition to capital punishment.

For further information concerning the life and political career of Hugh L. Carey, see Kramer, Daniel C. The Days of Wine and Roses Are Over: Governor Hugh Carey and New York State. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1997; and Kerker, Robert P. "Carey, Hugh (Leo)." In The Encyclopedia of New York State, ed. Peter Eisenstadt, 263. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2005.

The central subject and correspondence files of Governor Hugh L. Carey document the administration of state government through the aftermath of Watergate, the end of American military involvement in Vietnam, the lingering economic recession, and a fiscal crisis that brought New York City to the brink of bankruptcy. Documents include incoming correspondence from constituents, private organizations, and public officials at all levels of government; copies of responses prepared by the governor's office or representatives of other state agencies; and topical reports and background publications.

The records document economic subjects including federal job training and vocational education programs aimed at combating unemployment; promotion of the state's industries and tourism, including the "I Love New York" campaign; state response to the New York City fiscal crisis; coordination of state and federal responses to the energy crisis and development of long-term energy policies; planning and coordination of the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid; and improvement of the New York metropolitan area mass transit system.

Environmental issues documented include adoption of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA); air and water pollution control programs, including implementation of the federal Clean Air Act; recycling and solid waste management; hazardous and radioactive waste disposal policies and management of the Love Canal and West Valley disposal sites; and protection of wildlife, coastal, and marine resources.

Social issues documented include Indian land claims, most notably the Mohawk Indian occupation at Moss Lake; education policy development and tuition assistance programs; juvenile justice; abortion; capital punishment; drug treatment programs and reform of "Rockefeller" drug laws; ongoing legal issues stemming from the 1971 Attica Correctional Facility inmate uprising; post-Vietnam War issues including settlement of Vietnamese refugees, amnesty for draft evaders, and services for veterans; response to Willowbrook litigation and reorganization of the Department of Mental Hygiene; urban renewal, housing development, and rent control; policies and services relating to senior citizens; and investigations of Medicaid and welfare fraud.

Series 13681, Governor's Name Files, contains duplicate copies of correspondence filed alphabetically by name and cross references to file locations of copies in this series. Series B1856, Index to Central Subject, Correspondence, and Name Files of Governor Hugh Carey, contains alphabetical lists of subjects by which this series is arranged.

Records from accretion 13682-83 suffered severe water damage from a flood in July, 1995. All paper records for that accretion and also for 13682-82 were authorized for destruction by RDA 19727 and subsequently destroyed.

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