Palmesano, O’Mara, Sempolinski issue joint resolution praising one of America’s top art museums
From the office of NY State Senator Tom O’Mara,
State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C-Big Flats), Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning), Assemblyman Chris Friend (R,C-Big Flats), and Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski (R,C-Canisteo) today visited The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) to present a Legislative Resolution they sponsored this year to help commemorate the museum’s 75th Anniversary.
O’Mara, Palmesano, Friend, and Sempolinski presented copies of their resolution to CMoG President and Executive Director Jessica Levin Martinez and museum staff at a ceremony in the Admissions Lobby (see attached photos of full group and, in the other, from left to right: Senator O’Mara, Assemblyman Palmesano, CMoG President Jessica Levin Martinez, Assemblyman Sempolinski, and Assemblyman Friend).
The legislators praised the museum, founded in 1951 by Corning Glass Works (now Corning Incorporated) as an educational institution, as one of New York State’s top destinations and a global center focused on glass and glassmaking. It annually attracts more than 300,000 visitors from around the world. CMoG offers the world’s most comprehensive collection of glass and preeminent library on glass, and one of the world’s premier glassworking schools. In 2025, the New York Times named CMoG among the “U.S. museums to see,” and Newsweek readers voted CMoG one of America’s Top 3 Best Art Museums.
In a joint statement, O’Mara, Palmesano, Friend, and Sempolinski said, “Congratulations to everyone at the Corning Museum of Glass, past and present, on 75 remarkable years! It has been an amazing journey. Every step of the way, your efforts and vision have built CMoG into a world-class destination, annually attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors locally, regionally, and from across our state, nation, and the world. The museum anchors local tourism economies, and provides a world-class campus for artists, and supporters of the arts and culture, in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, across America, and around the globe. Your contributions to the Corning community have been an enormous source of pride, excellence, and quality, and CMoG has made a lifetime of good memories for countless families and students. We are grateful to have this opportunity to help commemorate and celebrate the Corning Museum of Glass!”
CMoG President and Executive Director Jessica Levin Martinez said, “We are honored for the support from Senator O’Mara, Assemblyman Palmesano, Assemblyman Friend, and Assemblyman Sempolinski for the Corning Museum of Glass. As we near the end of this milestone anniversary year, we are looking forward to the next 75 years with renewed enthusiasm and focus on shaping the future of glass.”
The resolution (J2135/K1387) was unanimously approved by the state Senate and Assembly in May during the closing weeks of the Legislature’s 2026 legislative session.
The resolution reads, in part, “The success of the Corning Museum of Glass is in direct correlation to the efforts of its members, whose involvement is, and always has been, characterized by an impressive commitment, an unbridled enthusiasm, and an uncompromising standard of excellence in all endeavors.”
