ALBANY —The 2019 legislative session opened Wednesday in dramatic and historic fashion, with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins sworn in as the first woman, and person of color, to hold the position.

In a packed Senate chamber that included guests Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Stewart-Cousins acknowledged the diversity of her new conference — which claimed the majority in November’s election — that welcomed 15 new members.

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