Louis F. DeSalvio (May 29, 1910 – August 17, 2004) served in the New York State Assembly for over 38 continuous years, longer than all but one other member in the history of that body.
The map proposed by his own committee separated his home address from most of his district, leading him to declare that the new plan would ruin his chances unless he moved.
His closest race was for renomination in 1970, when he won a three-way primary with 80 more votes than his nearest challenger, Republican Hyman Dechter.
Both houses of the state legislature passed the DeSalvio-Quinn Bill and in April 1949 Governor Thomas Dewey signed it, thus securing the protection of the site.
DeSalvio made a famous speech at a hearing before the New York City Board of Estimate in which he characterized Moses as a "'stubborn old man" and the proposed expressway as "a mad visionary's dream.
"[9] Paradoxically, DeSalvio introduced bills in 1962 and 1963 to purchase Ellis Island from the federal government and use it as the site of a new state university campus[10] and as a hospital and research center for narcotics addicts.
In 1966, DeSalvio criticized the State's plan to construct the World Trade Center, complaining that the twin towers would be unnecessary, except perhaps for use by NASA as part of a slingshot to launch astronauts toward the moon.