{"id":39869,"date":"2025-11-14T20:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/39869\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T20:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:54:08","slug":"lawmaker-reads-staten-island-independence-declaration-hopes-to-restart-secession-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/39869\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmaker reads \u2018Staten Island Independence Declaration,\u2019 hopes to restart secession movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, NY \u2014 A Staten Island elected official said Friday that he\u2019s ready to lead a charge to consider\u2014once again\u2014whether the borough should become an independent city. <\/p>\n

State Assemblymember Sam Pirozzolo, a Republican, held an event at the corner of Richmond Road and New Dorp Lane to generate interest in an updated review of Staten Island secession, as well as to read his own \u201cStaten Island Independence Declaration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe the citizens of Staten Island declare, when in the course of civic events it becomes necessary for one borough to dissolve the political bonds which have connected it with a distant and unresponsive government, we should declare the causes which impel us to seek separation,\u201d reads the start of Pirozzolo\u2019s document.<\/p>\n

Pirozzolo had published a video on social media inviting the public to join him at the event, which follows decades of conversation about Staten Island forming its own city, most recently in 2023 when Borough President Vito Fossella said his office would fund a new study<\/a> to learn what an independent Staten Island would look like. <\/p>\n

\"StatenSam Pirozzolo read his “Staten Island Independence Declaration” at historic site, calling for updated secession study and claiming the borough is unfairly treated by NYC government.Advance\/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro<\/p>\n

In the 1990s, a local referendum found that 65% of Staten Island voters supported secession, but implementation was opposed by the city government and was blocked by the State Assembly. Years later in 2019, then-Councilmember Joe Borelli, a Republican who represented the South Shore, also introduced a set of bills to study the feasibility of secession<\/a>, with support from another Republican state lawmaker, Assemblymember Michael Reilly.<\/p>\n

Although Friday\u2019s event closely follows the mayoral election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, Pirozzolo railed against policy positions of past, current and incoming city leaders. <\/p>\n

Despite some reservations about Mamdani, most of Staten Island\u2019s Republican elected officials have expressed hope for a collaborative relationship with the incoming mayor<\/a>, while still vowing to \u201cfight\u201d for Staten Island \u201cvalues.\u201d<\/p>\n

A historic site for independence<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s event took place at the former site of the Rose and Crown Tavern, where the Declaration of Independence was first read by British soldiers on Staten Island in 1776. <\/p>\n

Pirozzolo drew parallels between the revolutionaries\u2019 grievances in that moment and those he stated against modern city governance, including a judge\u2019s recent decision to thow out a City of Yes lawsuit<\/a>, and what he characterizes in a video as being \u201covertaxed with symbolic representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the the city has \u201cignored and abandoned\u201d the borough. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have petitioned time and time again for fairness, for reliable transportation, for safe streets and for our local voices to be heard,\u201d the document reads.<\/p>\n

\"StatenSam Pirozzolo read his “Staten Island Independence Declaration” at historic site, calling for updated secession study and claiming the borough is unfairly treated by NYC government.Advance\/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro\u2018This is about the freedom of Staten Islanders\u2019<\/p>\n

Pirozzolo made clear that it would take many years to see an independent Staten Island, and said he hopes to lead a push to update the previously completed secession study and prove that the borough could be self-sustaining. <\/p>\n

Some concerns about secession he addressed included maintaining first responder services, building an education system and the potential for taxes to increase.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody who\u2019s concerned about, \u2018my taxes might go up.\u2019 They might, but I\u2019ve got news for you. They\u2019re going up anyway, no matter what you do. <\/p>\n

\u201cI say that we should spend that money for Staten Island schools, Staten Island roads,\u201d Pirozzolo said. \u201cThis is about the freedom of Staten Islanders to choose their own fate moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his new, nearly 500-word written declaration, the assemblymember claimed that Staten Island is treated unfairly. The document states that Staten Islanders are entitled to representation, fairness and respect, and argues the current and incoming government are destructive to these principles. It also criticizes city leadership for neglecting the borough\u2019s infrastructure and businesses.<\/p>\n

\"StatenSam Pirozzolo read his “Staten Island Independence Declaration” at historic site, calling for updated secession study and claiming the borough is unfairly treated by NYC government.Advance\/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro\"StatenSam Pirozzolo read his “Staten Island Independence Declaration” at historic site, calling for updated secession study and claiming the borough is unfairly treated by NYC government.Advance\/SILive | Nicolette Cavallaro<\/p>\n

\u201cOur taxes are collected eagerly, yet our roads crumble, our ferries falter and our small businesses suffocate under regulations written for other boroughs. We are taxed as if we are Manhattan, but we are treated as if we are expendable,\u201d he read. \u201cCity Hall, instead of serving all five boroughs equally, has capitulated to the growing influence of the socialist ideologues who seek to reshape New York into a laboratory for their failed political experiments. They promote policies that demonize law enforcement, crush working class homeowners and drain opportunity from communities that value hard work and independence. The city no longer represents a balance of voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The small group of gathered Staten Islanders were encouraged to sign the new written declaration after Pirozzolo became the first signatory.<\/p>\n

He noted legislation has not yet been put forward to revisit the study, but said he would build a coalition of local officials to support it.<\/p>\n

The incoming Mamdani administration did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication. <\/p>\n

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