Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, a barrier-busting Brooklynite and the longest-serving woman in the history of the New York State Assembly, will retire at the end of the year, her office said Monday.
Weinstein, 71, is chairwoman of the Assembly’s Ways & Means Committee. She has served in the Assembly for more than four decades.
“I want to thank all of my constituents throughout the years for placing their confidence in me,” Weinstein, who represents neighborhoods such as Sheepshead Bay and Flatlands, said in a statement.
“It has been the greatest honor to serve as an Assembly member,” she added.
She was the first woman to head the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee, a position she took in 1994. She later became the first female chair of the Ways & Means Committee.
Bespectacled and a lifelong Brooklynite, Weinstein has focused heavily on fighting domestic violence. With her planned retirement, she joins a wave of New York State lawmakers headed for the exits.
