(AFP) – Residents of Staten Island, New York’s often-forgotten borough, have long celebrated their distinct distance from the rest of the megacity, and the election of a leftist mayor has fired up old conversations about breaking away from the Big Apple. This island near the Statue of Liberty, dotted with large, detached houses and patchy bus service, is politically more conservative than New York’s other four boroughs. Locals here are overwhelmingly against newly elected far-left mayor Zohran Mamdani. “Staten Island does not embrace the socialist model,” said Vito Fossella, the borough’s Republican president reflecting on November’s election and one of the many Americans of Italian descent here.
With less than 500,000 residents, in a city of more than eight million, Staten Island is the only borough in New York to predominantly vote for US President Donald Trump every time. The last time the idea of secession gained serious momentum was in 1993 when a consultative referendum saw 65 percent of residents support independence — but the plan got mired in opposition from state officials. That dream is again gaining traction.
– ‘Everybody excludes us’ – Until 2001, Staten Island was perhaps best known for the fact it took in the city’s waste at a massive landfill site. Some in the borough say they refuse to be dumped on by the city’s mayor any longer. Republican lawmaker Sam Pirozzolo is leading the charge and is delighted that hostility to Mamdani is firing the resurgence of separatist politics. “He’s the catalyst to get people engaged in this conversation,” he said.
Pirozzolo said that in 1993 a study showed that Staten Island generated $158 million more in tax revenue base than it received in services. “Since then, we probably have another 150,000 people living on the island. We have countless more businesses,” he said, citing the massive Amazon development in the borough’s west. He is convinced that Staten Island can cover its own costs and wants to drive the conversation for going it alone.
But the borough holds only three out of 51 seats on the city council. One of those representatives, who would consider leaving New York, is Frank Morano, who said “Staten Islanders would appreciate some recognition from the rest of the city” and called for a feasibility study into all options. “We could see how Staten Island would do financially, remaining part of New York City — or some sort of a hybrid approach, where maybe we have greater autonomy,” he said.
In front of the island’s mega mall, Mark Ortego braved the biting cold to hustle to his car in the sprawling parking lot and said he feels positively about independence. “I like the idea,” said the air conditioning engineer, 23. “We’re just isolated… Everybody excludes us. So might as well be, like, alone.”
But Adriana Velazquez, a 44-year-old health care professional who was shopping with her daughter, said, “I don’t think Staten Island can manage it.” “You lose your police, you lose your trash, you lose your fire departments, because those are all New York state, New York City,” she said, referring to the outside entities that fund local services.
The newly installed mayor Mamdani told Islanders they were a “critical part of New York City,” and experts suggest the debate could drag on. “I understand why there are Staten Islanders who would feel that that history is one that hasn’t been recognized because what we’ve seen time and time again through multiple administrations is that this borough becomes a footnote as opposed to a focus,” Mamdani said. “And what I hope to show through my administration is that we are going to take seriously the concerns of Staten Islanders and deliver on those concerns.”
Velazquez echoed some of the worry for Staten Islanders: “It most of the time felt like a forgotten borough.” But Morano, the councilman, is adamant that “this is not just a place that should be known for landfills and mobsters.”
– Raphaël HERMANO
© 2024 AFP
