Long Island (proposed State)
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Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, a large island directly south of
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, has made attempts in the past to secede from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and become its own state. Mentions of Long Island secession range from 1896 to 2010. The proposed
51st state "51st state" is a phrase used in the United States of America to refer to the idea of adding an additional state to the current 50-state Union. Proposals for a 51st state may include granting statehood to one of the U.S. territories or Washing ...
has also speculated the combination of Nassau and Suffolk counties into one county in order to reduce costs. The state of Long Island would include over 2.7 million people, not including the more populous west end of the island. Nassau County executive Ed Mangano came out in support of such a proposal in April 2010 and was said to be commissioning a study on it. Under Article Four, Section 3, clause 1 of the federal Constitution, both the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...
and the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
would need to approve any secession from New York.Casesse, Sid and William Murphy (2010-05-01)
Nassau executive Magnano supports Long Island as 51st state
''Newsday''. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
The State Legislature has thus far resisted all attempts at secession. The Long Island statehood movement has been featured on the
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
series '' How the States Got Their Shapes''.


Secession history

The first known proposal of Long Island as its own state was published in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in 1896. Sugar refiner Adolph Molenhaur claimed other big cities in New York did not take Long Island into account when making decisions and were spending money without any benefit to Long Island's interests. In the 1990s,
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
man Joseph Sawicki introduced a bill that would have seen Long Island split off of New York as the 51st state, however, the proposal never went anywhere. In 1996, a non-binding vote took place in which the idea of secession was approved. However, no further action was taken at that time. On March 28, 2008, now Suffolk County comptroller Sawicki proposed a plan that would make
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
(specifically, Nassau and Suffolk counties) the
51st state "51st state" is a phrase used in the United States of America to refer to the idea of adding an additional state to the current 50-state Union. Proposals for a 51st state may include granting statehood to one of the U.S. territories or Washing ...
of the
United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
(or, should
Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
and/or
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
be included in the breakup of New York State, the 52nd or 53rd). Sawicki said that all the Long Island taxpayers' money would stay on Long Island, rather than the funds being dispersed all over the entire state of New York. In 2009, there was a call for home rule of Long Island by political leaders who were angry about a tax. Suffolk County was on board with the plan but Nassau County showed no support. In 2010, the Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano had a plan to combine Nassau and Suffolk counties and to secede from New York and wanted to formally look into the idea. In late 2022, Long Island assemblymen Keith Brown proposed seceding to the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
on the basis that Long Island is "an ATM machine for New York City", believing that the island has enough money and local services to be its own independent state. On the contrary, Philip Ramos has stated his concerns with the proposal calling the idea "insane", believing the island as an independent state could not provide essential services and would marginalize minority communities living on the island. As of August 2023 no such bill has been put forward.


Supporters vs. Opponents


Supporters

In the 1990s State Assemblyman Joe Sawicki introduced a bill that would have seen Long Island split off from New York as the 51st State. Sawicki's motivation was because Long Island, despite making up just 15% of New York's population at the time, paid 20% of the state's estate taxes and 17% of the state's income taxes which he felt was unfair. Sawicki left the assembly in 1993, and in 2008 he returned to politics, becoming a full-time advocate for Long Island secession. An extreme supporter is Cesidio Tallini. He created a micronation named Winnecomac, originally named Independent Long Island until February 2nd 2013, special code "WQ", which aims for the entire island of Long Island to become a nation separate from the United States. This idea was not popular among Long Islanders, but has gained attention from the media. Tallini was featured in the 2011 History Channel series ''How the States Got their Shapes'', as well as in a 2007 article in ''The New York Times''.


Opponents

The Long Island statehood movement has clashed with the movement to establish a new '' Peconic County'' out of Suffolk county with Sawicki arguing that the Peconic movement was dividing the efforts of like-minded individuals. The Peconic movement argues that the East End pays more than it receives in taxes to Suffolk and has a different cultural makeup to the rest of the county, both arguments the Long Island secessionist movement claims between Long Island and the rest of the state.


See also

* Partition and secession in New York


References


External links


Official Independent Long Island website


Clyde Haberman, ''The New York Times'', April 30, 2009.
"Modern-Day US Secessionists: An Interactive Map"
Nick Baumann, Dave Gilson, & Tim Murphy, ''Mother Jones'', November/December 2010.
"Scotland vs. Long Island: What would they be like independent?"
Newsday.com staff, ''Newsday'', September 18, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Island (proposed state) Proposed states and territories of the United States Long Island