The gorgeous win by Zohran Mamdani to turn into New York Metropolis’s subsequent mayor has reignited some Republican politicians on Staten Island to name for the borough to secede from the remainder of the town. And so they’re tapping into many years of feeling slighted by the remainder of the town as gasoline for his or her motion.
“It’s solely going to get louder,” says Staten Island Borough President of the rising sentiment. He factors to nearly all of the borough not voting for Mamdani, who’s a Democratic Socialist. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an impartial, gained 55% of the vote in Staten Island versus Mamdani, who received 23% of the vote. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa gained 21%.
State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo held a rally final month the place attendees signed a “Staten Island Independence Declaration.” In his view, Mamdani’s win means the borough’s significance may very well be restricted. “We’re at conflict as a result of the town appears to have values that we disagree with,” he mentioned. “A few of the insurance policies that slot in Manhattan don’t slot in Staten Island, and what they do in Queens and Brooklyn are what we don’t wish to have right here.”
Secession has been mentioned in Staten Island earlier than. The borough is predominately white, and is New York Metropolis’s least populous borough whereas having the second-highest median revenue behind Manhattan. The watershed second was in 1993, when 63% of residents voted to depart in a non-binding referendum. The shock led then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani to make the Staten Island Ferry free, and to close down the Contemporary Kills Landfill to appease residents.
However financial questions, in addition to correct political illustration, may tamper the drive to secede. Specialists level out that Staten Island doesn’t have a powerful financial base to be impartial. Metropolis Council member Frank Morano is pushing for a full financial research earlier than any referendum is created. “I’m all for democracy, however what I’d like is democracy with information,” he mentioned.
