2013-11-05

New Secession Flash Point: Staten Island

Look for Staten Island to push for secession again in the coming years, now that NYC is turning back towards the left with De Blasio.

From 2008: A New Call for Staten Island to Secede
Mr. Lanza, a Republican who represents about two-thirds of Staten Island, said in an interview on Wednesday that he was motivated to draft the bill because of residents of the island continued to feel unduly burdened by taxes and less-than-stellar city services. He said Staten Island residents have complained for years that they felt overlooked by the rest of the city, particularly on city services and mass transportation.

From 1992: Should Staten Island Leave the City?
Staten Island is the city’s smallest borough, but its population of 380,000 makes it as big as Miami or Pittsburgh. Now, there is a serious possibility that Staten Island will secede and form a city of its own. It would be the second-largest city in New York State.

Eighty-three percent of the borough’s voters approved a 1990 referendum, authorized by the State Legislature, that created a bipartisan commission to study secession. The commission will also draft a proposed city charter to be put before the voters of Staten Island in November 1993. If they approve it, the issue will go back to Albany for final approval by the Legislature and the Governor.

In many ways, Staten Island is unlike the rest of New York City. It is 85 percent white, mostly middle-class and suburban. The Republican Party has a strong presence on the island, though its residents also produce large majorities for Mario Cuomo. It is the only borough in the city to support a major daily newspaper, the Staten Island Advance, a Newhouse publication that outsells all city newspapers combined on the island. Staten Island’s transportation infrastructure further distances it from the other boroughs: Its only connections are the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn and the ferry to Manhattan. In contrast, three bridges connect the island with New Jersey.
Staten Island is only 72% white now, but this is in keeping with the general trend of demographics. It is still far whiter than NYC in total, which is 44% white.
If state policymakers do eventually support secession, the process will take on all the manifestations of a divorce. Lawyers will sort out common assets and debts in order to determine what belongs to whom. Tough questions will be asked: What will be done about the Fresh Kills landfill—will New York be charged for using it, will its use be limited to refuse from Staten Island, or will it be closed entirely? Should the ferry be run by New York, Staten Island, the Port Authority, or a private business? Will Staten Island have to purchase its water from New York City? Who owns Borough Hall? These and numerous other terms would be negotiated in the separation settlement. As with most divorces, the final event would be preceded by disbelief, trauma, and familiar advice.
Sounds like something that would happen during a period of negative social mood.

Secession in New York
The "Greater City" exists as a result of actions of the New York State Legislature, and, as such, could be reduced in size by the same mechanism. A non-binding referendum in the borough of Staten Island was held in 1993 to consider whether that borough should be allowed to secede from the City. The New York City government and then-Mayor David Dinkins opposed the vote, contending that the referendum should not be permitted by the state unless the city issued a home rule message supporting it, which the city would not. Then-Governor Mario Cuomo disagreed, and the vote went forward. The vote was in favor of secession through the approval of a new city charter making Staten Island an independent city.

The Staten Island secession movement was defused, or at least deferred, by the election on the same ballot of Rudy Giuliani as New York City mayor, who had campaigned on the promise that Staten Island's grievances would be addressed. Giuliani's plurality in his narrow victory over Dinkins was aided by overwhelming support from Staten Island. Two of the borough's biggest demands were closing the Fresh Kills Landfill and making the Staten Island Ferry free, both of which have since been fulfilled.
The only reason Staten Island stayed was because of Giuliani, and one can argue, Bloomberg.

This time around, Staten Island will leave.

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