Greetings from the future 51st state!
I am a Long Islander and proud of it. Growing up in the small hamlet of Holbrook in Suffolk County, my parents and family has always talked about Long Island becoming a state. After my parents splitting up, moving to Florida, and the recent death of my father, I can see see the growing need for statehood within my own life.
Statehood has been a big question for Long Islanders, practically since the formation of the United States. Can this truly be the time of our rising? Okay, enough with the sappy intro. This is my interpretation of Long Island statehood, including my opinions and ideas to make this new state great.
Why statehood?
Why should Long Island become a state? This is the question for most Americans. For Long Islanders, it is quite obvious: bossism. That's right... "bossism." When I first heard this word in "Lost States," I thought it was a joke. But I kid you not, it is a real word, and without knowing what it exactly is, I can tell you all that it is by far the best word to describe Long Island's desire for statehood.
In a nutshell, bossism sounds like being ruled by a boss. This is true for Long Island. Long Island is either in the shadow of Albany or New York City. Not to say this isn't the same with other parts of the state, or within other states as well, but LI is a special case. Excluding the counties that make up New York City, Nassau and Suffolk rank as the most populous counties of New York State, as well as being the only counties exceeding a million residents (hell, Suffolk boasts a larger population than the Bronx in the 2010 census).
My map of how I see the State of Long Island.
This large population equals large amounts of money for the state, but at a great cost. I don't know the exact numbers, but together, Nassau and Suffolk residents pay about 8 million dollars in taxes, while the state only give back less then half of that. In short, how you you like it if you purchase an item that is one dollar with a ten dollar bill. In change, you would only get back four dollars. How is that fair? I also bet that if this happened to you, you would get your money back and the clerk would have a bloody nose. Sadly, Long Islanders can't do this, which is where the statehood calls come from.
For the record, this movement isn't old. Statehood calls have probably existed since the end of the Revolution. But the clearest move for Long Island statehood began around the 1890s. This was also the time that the Greater City of New York came to exist. It was also this time period where "bossism" came into being. So imagine, the same story has been happening for well over a century. How long would it take to piss you off?
My thoughts
The following sections just describes my thoughts and ideas on a potential State of Long Island (SLI for short). This section is clearly just my opinions.
Flag
Despite a united Long Island spirit, us Long Islanders have no flag to stand behind. However, one Long Islander has come up with an interesting design, and it is quickly becoming a popular flag in the statehood movement. Or is it?
Cesidio Tallini's flag.
Long Islander Cesidio Tallini is a micronationalist, known mostly (within the statehood movement) for his micronation Independent Long Island. The flag he designed is quite unique in my opinion. Blue and orange obviously represent Long Island's Dutch and New Yorker origins. The four stars represent the four counties (Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk). The "eels tongue" (as quoted by Brian Unger) can represent the forked-shape of Long Island itself.
Tallini's flag is quickly becoming a symbol for Long Island statehood, and is quickly growing on me. I initially hatted the idea, due primarily to:
- The flag was designed for an INDEPENDENT Long Island, not a State.
- A State of Long Island would most likely not have four counties. Most likely excluding Brooklyn and Queens, and maybe adding Peconic (see below).
- While I love the use of Dutch blue and orange, the exact shading tends to hurt my eyes (at least on a computer).
I also had my doubts about Tallini himself (primarily because he supported independence). But after reading more about the guy in the news, I believe we probably have more in common. When the History Channel special How the States Got Their Shapes came out, Tallini was interviewed about Long Island statehood. When his segment wasn't put in the final cut, he made it clear he wasn't happy.
Peconic County
I first came across the this idea from my Nana around 2005 or so. All she said was that there was an attempt to create a new country from Suffolk County. I didn't think much of it, until I really got into map making.
As early as the 1990s, the residents of the five townships of eastern Suffolk County proposed seceding to form their own county: Peconic County. Named after the bay which divided the north and south forks, the county came out under similar circumstances as to why LI wants to become its own state. Officially, Suffolk County's seat is located in Riverhead, many of the county offices began to move towards the more populated west (Hauppauge to be exact). This caused many of the rural east to propose creating their own county.
Clearly making a county is much easier than allowing statehood. So why is Peconic not a county? I don't know how true this is, but from what I read, Albany feared that this would cause a wave of secessionism within the state. At the same time, Staten Island's attempts to secede from NYC were dying down, but adding a new county might have resparked hopes in the borough.
Despite not becoming a county, the "Peconicans" haven't given up yet. In recent polls, the majority of voters favor a separate Peconic County in a proposed SLI.[1] My personal thoughts, why not. I see absolutely no reason why to not include it. The more the merrier. Come on Peconic, JOIN THE PARTY!!