I can't speak to what New York was like then, but I did play a couple of tournaments at the Mechanic's Institute in San Francisco (older than the NY clubs, and still going) in the late 1970s-early 1980s. There were different kinds of tournaments with different time controls. Some, with more rounds in less time, had something like one hour for 40 moves, another 30 minutes to finish the game. More usual was 1 1/2 hours for 40 moves, 30 minutes for each subsequent 15 moves, and adjournment if the time for the next round was imminent. For the Northern California Open Championship I think it was two hours for 40 moves and 30 minutes each 10 moves. I can't swear these times are exactly accurate but they are close as best as I can remember after all these years.
Old Chess Club Time Controls
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I am curious what were the typical time controls of clubs such as the Manhattan and Marshall Chess Clubs in the 50s 60s and 70s