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State Senator Proposes Staten Island Secession
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 17, 2008
Modified Dec 17, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 17, 2008
Modified Dec 17, 2008
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Though a 1994 bid for Staten Island secession failed, State Senator Andrew Lanza will propose that S.I. secede from the rest of NYC next year. The Staten Island Advance spoke to Lanza as he "is putting the finishing touches on the 2,115-page bill" and found out he "really believe[s]" in the secession, because "being part of New York City works against Staten Island on all the issues we care about." Lanza admits that Mayor Bloomberg has been helpful to his borough, but: "Staten Island's voice is diminished in this big, bureaucratic system that we pay a lot of the bill for." If S.I. secedes, it would be the second largest city in NY State and Lanza thinks it could raise enough money from property, business and payroll taxes. As for the Mayor, his spokesman said, "Mayor Bloomberg doesn't agree with Sen. Lanza on this but he appreciated...when Andy said that this mayor has been a great friend to Staten Island at City Hall who built on Mayor Giuliani's record of looking after Staten Islanders." Photo: wallyg on Flickr
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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