Linda Rosenthal was born in 1957 to parents who fled the Nazis in the 1930s. Rosenthal earned a B.A. degree in History from the University of Rochester in 1980.
Career
In 1993, Rosenthal began working for US Congressman Jerry Nadler and served as Manhattan District Director and Director of Special Projects. Prior to this, she worked in publishing. Rosenthal was elected to the New York State Assembly in a February 2006 special election between four candidates to replace Scott Stringer, who left the Assembly to become Manhattan Borough President. Rosenthal won the November 2008 general election with 84.7 percent of the vote, and ran uncontested in the November 2010 general election. In the Assembly, Rosenthal is the chair for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Committee, and sits on the Codes, Housing, Health, and Agriculture committees. In 2006, the New York State Legislature passed Assemblymember Rosenthal's landmark legislation allowing court orders of protection to be extended to companion animals; it has also passed laws she proposed requiring applicants of public assistance to be provided with resources for victims of sexual assault, allowing for same-sex couples to adopt non-biological children, eliminating the state sales tax on feminine hygiene products; and prohibiting the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. In May 2015, fellow Manhattan Democrat Richard N. Gottfried tried to curb a bill introduced by Rosenthal that would allow customers to bring their dogs to outdoor restaurants, because Gottfried was afraid larger breeds would be able to grab food from tabletops. Gottfried said: "Some dogs are tall enough that all they would have to do is turn their heads and they would be eating off people’s plates." A similar bill that passed in California has not resulted in any problems, and the practice is also legal in Israel and some European countries, and common in Europe and in Los Angeles. The bill passed the Senate in May 2015 by a 60-0 vote. In March 2016, follows the State Legislature’s passage of her bill, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued an advisory allowing dogs to accompany human diners at restaurants that have outdoor seating, joining service dogs which were already allowed in virtually all situations. In March 2019, she introduced a bill, A5040, that will ban a sale of fur in New York, by 2021. New York would follow California, which is in the process of legislating the ban.
Personal life
Rosenthal resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Although she shares a last name with City Council member Helen Rosenthal and represents the same area, they are not related.
Election results
February 2006 special election, NYS Assembly, 67th AD
