A desire to secede may be the one thing most New York regions have in common

From Staten Island to upstate, some New Yorkers have long been asking for a breakup. Only Vermont has been successful, seceding from the Empire State in 1777. A century later, New York City Mayor Fernando Wood proposed becoming a city-state, or a free “Tri-insula,” including Manhattan, Staten Island and Long Island. Since the 1960s, new calls for secession reappear with similar talking points. Here’s a tour of New York’s most recent commitment-phobes.

Long Island

Republican Rep. Nick LaLota tweeted about a “State of Long Island” on Feb. 3, complaining that their tax dollars are being “siphoned off to New York City.” The call for secession is more tradition than rebellion – this one has been in the works since 1896. There was a secession-friendly vote in the 1990s, Suffolk County Comptroller Joseph Sawicki Jr.’s proposed plan in 2008 and Assembly Member Keith Brown said Long Island was an ATM for the city in 2023.

Staten Island 

Staten Island has always been ready for a good secession discussion. The “forgotten borough” has been workshopping a goodbye from the rest of New York City since 1947. Staten Islanders voted to secede from New York City half a century later, but the borough nonetheless remains tethered to the city. A bill was introduced last month by a majority of the New Jersey Assembly Republican caucus to create a Special Committee on Staten Island Annexation. While the committee promises to publish a report of its findings, New Jersey is a Democratic-led state, and may not want to absorb red-leaning Staten Island.

Upstate

Upstate has dreamt of a breakup since 1969, when Norman Mailer and Jimmy Breslin ran for New York City mayor and City Council president on the platform of making the five boroughs into the 51st state. New secession ideas are always circulating, with suggestions including making a state of “New Amsterdam” or merging upstate counties with Pennsylvania. Each suggestion goes through rounds of upstate-downstate showdowns, or at least secession supporters would like to think so. It always ends the same way: a lack of votes in Albany, no acts from Congress and just another round of lessons in failed cartography.

Divide NYS

Another state bill was introduced in 2025 to divide New York into three autonomous regions: the New York region (New York City), New Amsterdam (upstate) and the Montauk region (Long Island as well as Rockland and Westchester counties). The proposal would give each region its own governor, legislature and purse, but there would still be a central authority and bank account. The movement started gaining traction in 2019, and supporting Republicans believe it would be easier to create three autonomous regions than two states (New York City versus everyone else), legally bypassing Congress and instead only requiring an amendment to the state constitution.

Western New York

Some in Western New York feel it should be its own state, with a call to be split on a north-south line just east of Rochester. Names like the State of Niagara and Western New York State have been proposed, with secession supporters saying Albany is largely controlled by figureheads from the New York City metro area, who do not represent western New York’s interests.