You have to understand the New York State legislature. Three men have total power to pass or not pass legislation. The representatives are simply pawns who do what the leaders tell them to do. They can propose any sort of legislation they like, but they know it will never come to the floor. Only the legislation that the ‘three men in a room’ have approved comes to the floor.
So the “three men” are that state’s Politburo and the State Assembly and Senate act as the rubber-stamp Supreme Soviet.