A Secession Plan Is Floated for New York City

Emboldened by Mayor Bloomberg's testimony in Albany this week that the city's taxpayers pay the state $11 billion a year more than they get back, a City Council member is offering legislation that would begin the process of having New York City secede from New York State.

Peter Vallone Jr., a Democrat who represents Queens, is pushing the idea, and the Council plans to hold a hearing on the possibility of making New York City the 51st state.

"I think secession's time has definitely come again," Mr. Vallone, who spearheaded a similar push in 2003, told The New York Sun yesterday. "If not secession, somebody please tell me what other options we have if the state is going to continue to take billions from us and give us back pennies. Should we raise taxes some more? Should we cut services some more? Or should we consider seriously going out on our own?"

During a visit to Albany this week, Mr. Bloomberg called on lawmakers to give the city its "fair share" of tax revenue and said that the state took in $11 billion more from New York City than was returned in the state budget. Mr. Vallone says that the state's demands on the city in worsening economic times now make it necessary to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them.

"Not only is it about self-determination and self-rule, but it's about fairness," Mr. Vallone said. "It's something we see every year in the budget. They take $11 billion from us and give us back a mere pittance and they make it seem like they're doing us a favor to give that pittance back. Somehow they missed the point that that is New York City's own tax money and we deserve it."

Mr. Vallone's legislation would create a commission to study the issue and then recommend whether to put it to a referendum. Since secession would have to be approved by the Albany legislators, its passage would be unlikely. Another to council member, Simcha Felder, who chairs the Governmental Operations committee, said the bill will be considered this year.

"It certainly has merit," Mr. Felder said of the proposal. "Why in the world should New York City be held hostage to the state? It just doesn't make sense."

Mr. Felder acknowledged that the bill "would face many hurdles," but said it deserved a debate.

"I think the people in New York City are very interested for the most part in it. The question is the people outside New York City in New York State who have been eating the fruits of our labor for all this time. They aren't going to be ready to just say forget about it."

The director of government watchdog New York Civic, Henry Stern, said that leaving the state would be politically and logistically difficult.
"You can't secede from a state. We wouldn't even let Staten Island secede from New York City, so nobody's going to let this happen." Mr. Stern, who previously served in City Council and as Parks Commissioner, said.

He added that Albany and the rest of New York north of the Bronx border does have some redeeming qualities. "The city needs upstate — it's where the city gets its water. It dumps its prisoners upstate," Mr. Stern said.

Council Member James Gennaro said yesterday that while he understood the frustration driving the idea, he did not support secession.

"It would be a sad day to have to separate from the state, but this also is a natural question that sort of comes out of the fact that Albany is shortchanging New York City," Mr. Gennaro said. "It's very unfortunate that is the state of affairs, but I am for fixing that and bringing more equity and fairness, whereas secession would essentially represent failure."

Mr. Vallone said that the city would operate more effectively on its own. "It would be much, much simpler to be able to govern 8.5 million people without having to ask legislators who represent villages on the Canadian border for permission before we do anything," Mr. Vallone said.

Prominent New Yorkers have advocated breaking free from Albany in the past. Upstate cities like Buffalo, Albany, Glen Falls, and Rochester may share more in common with neighboring states like Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts — or even Canada. In 1969, author Norman Mailer ran for mayor on a secessionist platform. During the Civil War, Mayor Fernando Wood proposed going even further — seceding from the Union entirely to form an independent city-state.