Long Island (proposed state)

A map comparing the counties and towns of Long Island based on statehood proposals.

  Brooklyn and Queens (two boroughs of New York City) are sometimes included in statehood proposals.

  Nassau County

  Suffolk County

  The easternmost towns of Suffolk County are often put into question as the proposed Peconic County.

The secession of Long Island from New York was proposed as early as 1896, with similar talk having been revived toward the later part of the 20th century.^[1]

On March 28, 2008, Suffolk County, New York, comptroller Joseph Sawicki and Keith Durgan proposed a plan that would make Long Island (specifically, Nassau and Suffolk counties) the 51st state of the United States of America^[2] (or, should Upstate New York and/or Western New York be included in the breakup of New York State, the 52nd or 53rd). Sawicki says 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.^{[citation needed]}

The state of Long Island would include over 2.7 million people, not including the more populous west end of the island.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

Any proposal would need to be approved by the New York State Legislature, which has refuted all previous secession efforts,^[2][3] and the United States Congress.

The Long Island statehood movement has been featured on the History Channel series How the States Got Their Shapes.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Secession in New York

References