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Long Island Lawmakers Order Statehood Study
By
Jen Chung
Published May 12, 2009
Modified May 12, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 12, 2009
Modified May 12, 2009
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Angry at Albany for passing a bill that imposes payroll taxes to help bailout the MTA and other rankling decisions, Republican lawmakers on Long Island are calling for a study for examine secession from the rest of the state. Suffolk Comptroller Joseph Sawicki said, "The state of Long Island has always been a romantic idea, its been fun to talk about and exciting to discuss. Now, it's become a matter of economic survival," and points out that Albany gets $3 billion more from Long Island than it gives back. However, Newsday notes there are some worries—for instance, Legislator DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) explained, "Is there going to be an impression that the Long Island delegation, that they're wacky, that they're whackos? That's the concern that I have." Well, secession is always a fun way to get people riled up—Staten Island has considered it, as have folks in NYC (NYC gives around $10 billion to the state that it doesn't get back).
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51st state
Albany
Albany sucks
long island
secession
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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