Among the challenges that New York City’s next mayor, Zoran Mamdani, may have to deal with are Staten Island members who don’t want to be part of the city.
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- Staten Island Republicans are renewing their calls for the state to secede from New York City following the election of Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani as its next mayor.
- Supporters of secession argue that Staten Island has too little say in city government.
- Previous secession efforts, including a non-binding referendum in 1993, failed to win the necessary state approval.
- Some officials are currently pushing for an economic feasibility study to determine the financial costs and benefits of Staten Island independence.
A group of Staten Island Republicans are discussing leaving New York City in the wake of Zoran Mamdanni’s Nov. 4 mayoral election.
“The noise is only going to get louder,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella told USA TODAY, noting that the majority of residents in the Republican-leaning borough did not vote for Mr. Mamdani, who calls himself a democratic socialist. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a moderate Democrat who ran as an independent, won 55% of the mayoral vote in New York’s most conservative borough, compared to Mamdani’s nearly 23% and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa’s 21%.
Other elected officials argue that Staten Island remains a “forgotten borough” and want to see how far the new strategy that will soon lead Mamdani to lead the city can go in 2026, despite previous secession attempts failing.
Well, state Rep. Sam Pirozzolo raised eyebrows last month when he hosted a rally where he read the “Staten Island Declaration of Independence.” The event was held on the island where British soldiers were first informed of the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, so dozens of participants signed a related petition.
Pirozzolo told USA TODAY that he is “not declaring physical war” on New York City, but that leaving should be strongly considered. He thinks Mamdani’s victory may not bode well for Staten Island’s roughly 500,000 residents.
“I feel like we don’t really have an equal voice in New York City. That voice is being diluted, and it could get worse if the city is run on a socialist model,” Fossella said. “I would say it’s like the relationship has gone bad. They’re not interested in us anymore.”
Temptations to secession for autonomous regions span decades
Connected to Manhattan only by a ferry and Brooklyn by a bridge, much of Staten Island feels like a suburb, with homes spread out on winding streets. It is the smallest and whitest borough in population, and has the second-highest average income after Manhattan.
Some Staten Island residents have been talking about leaving the nation’s most populous city almost since Greater New York City was founded in 1898. With ample parks and a homeownership rate more than twice the citywide average, it is physically and culturally closer to New Jersey than any other borough in the city.
Frustrated with New York City’s high taxes, poor public transportation, and tons of municipal trash literally dumped in the Fresh Kill Landfill, Staten Island toyed with secession in 1993 when residents passed a non-binding referendum with 65 percent support.
But secession required state approval, and momentum waned when state legislatures did not bring the bill to a vote. Then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani eventually made the Staten Island Ferry free to residents and closed the dump.
Since then, other Staten Island-based politicians have floated secession proposals, including Republican New York City Council members Joe Borelli and Steven Mateo in 2019 and Borelli again in 2022. In 2023, Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who represents the district in Congress, revived the Staten Island exit negotiations after the city decided to use an abandoned school as a temporary site for immigrants.
“It’s time to have this conversation again,” Pirozzolo said. “We’re at war because this city seems to have values that we don’t agree with. Some of the policies that fit Manhattan don’t fit Staten Island. What’s going on in Queens and Brooklyn is something we don’t want here.”
“Well, I feel like we’ve become a forgotten neighborhood,” Pirozzolo concluded.
Even Staten Island Democrats may feel ignored
While the southern two-thirds of Staten Island were heavily Republican, Mamdani supported the racially and ethnically diverse North Shore, the island closest to Manhattan.
Nevertheless, Democratic New York City Councilwoman Camilla Hanks, who represents the North Shore, told USA TODAY she understands why secession is “emotionally appealing” to many residents.
Although her district may most closely resemble the rest of New York City, where five public housing development corporations are being developed, Hanks believes City Hall often ignores Staten Island’s needs.
“I don’t deny the sentiment, because it’s rooted in a legitimate desire to be heard, respected and valued,” Hanks said. “These inequities are not imagined. They are real, documented, and long-standing grievances felt by many Staten Islanders.”
Mamdani’s transition team did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Finding a balance between “needing to leave vs. being able to afford to leave”
New York State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) told the New York Post that he wants residents to vote for secession again. The paper said he plans to reintroduce the stalled 2008 Withdrawal Bill as early as January. Lanza compares the borough’s quest for independence from the city to the United States’ quest for freedom from Britain.
But it’s not that easy, New York City Councilman Frank Morano told USA TODAY. Before pushing for a referendum, Staten Island Republicans are drafting a bill that would require New York City to conduct an economic feasibility study to analyze what it would cost if Staten Island lost access to city resources.
Mr. Morano insists that he is not calling for secession, even though the majority of residents want the group to consider secession. He understands voters’ fears of feeling constantly ignored by New York City’s other elected officials, no matter who they vote for or what policies they vote for.
Hanks has similar sentiments. Brooklyn’s other four boroughs each have at least twice as many congressional districts due to their larger populations, and she is one of three City Council members representing Staten Island.
“Even though Staten Island’s elected representatives come together, we often outnumber them or outnumber them at the city, state and federal level,” Hanks said. “That is the reality of our expression.
“But that doesn’t mean we’ll stop fighting,” Hanks continued. “We fight smarter. We build coalitions, present data, and advance policies based on equity and results.”
Morano believes Staten Islanders should have the autonomy to decide their own destiny.
“But we’ve never gotten a clear breakdown of what we’re giving away financially and what we’re getting back in return. That’s why I’m a little skeptical that this will lead to higher taxes. That’s why we need an investigation and we need a comprehensive dollar-and-cent approach,” Morano said. “We want to hold a referendum, but first we want the facts. Staten Islanders deserve to know the real numbers so they can have a real say in their future.”
“We’re trying to find the right, realistic balance between ‘Do we need to leave?’ and ‘Can we afford to leave?'” Morano said.
Exit must be based on ‘real numbers, not slogans’
Hanks, a lifelong Staten Island resident, said secession symbolizes autonomy and self-determination and, in residents’ minds, the ability to chart their own path.
For residents, independence may require tax increases and service cuts. Two revenue and expenditure studies in the early 1990s found that an independent Staten Island would run a deficit of between $171 million and $199 million.
“But realistically speaking, withdrawal is not realistic,” Hanks said. “That would result in a much larger tax burden than what we currently face under the city structure.”
A longtime New York City expert agrees.
Mitchell Moss, a professor at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and an adviser to former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, said, “Studies show that Staten Island does not have enough of an economic base to generate enough taxes to secede.” “Let’s see how much attention Mamdani will pay to them.”
Morano said that’s why his appeal for an economic investigation is important.
“We have a democratic right to choose,” Morano continued. “But I feel this needs to be based on real numbers, not slogans and promises. I’m all for democracy, but what I want is a data-driven democracy.”
Morano hopes his bill will be introduced later this month and get a public hearing within the next six months, or sooner.
“The question of withdrawal is being asked more loudly than ever before,” Morano said. “So, let’s take responsibility and answer to the best of our ability.”
