Secession in New York - Upstate Secession

Upstate Secession

A parallel Upstate New York statehood movement seeks separation due to taxation and economic concerns. Such proposals often include excising Albany (and presumably the Hudson River Valley) along with New York City, due to a perception that Albany is primarily controlled by politicians from the New York City area. A separate but related movement only includes Western New York (as well as sometimes portions of Central New York and the Southern Tier) in the secession efforts as an independent state or commonwealth entitled "Niagara."

Much of upstate New York (unsettled by Europeans until the 19th century and inhabited only by the Haudenosaunee) was not part of New York State during colonial times. Due to an oversight, two separate Kings of England (Charles I and Charles II) awarded the same upstate New York territory to both Massachusetts Bay Colony and New York Colony respectively; Pennsylvania Colony also separately laid claim to much of the territory now in the Southern Tier up until 1774. It was not until 1786, with the Treaty of Hartford, that the dispute was settled; New York got territorial rights, but Massachusetts would get to sell the land to developers. In 1792, a portion encompassing modern-day Erie, Pennsylvania (given to New York in the treaty) was sold to Pennsylvania.

Former State Senator and U.S. Congressman Randy Kuhl, from rural upstate Hammondsport, advocated splitting the state into "New York" and "West New York" and introduced several bills to that effect during his time in the state senate. State senators Joseph Robach, Dale Volker, and Michael Ranzenhofer, all Republicans from Western New York, proposed a nonbinding referendum to gauge support for dividing the state in November 2009. Fred Smerlas, in discussing a potential platform for a Congressional run from Western New York, stated that he would make the separation of New York City and upstate a top priority: "My first act if I ever got elected would be to take a big saw and cut New York City off." Both factions of the Tea Party movement in the Buffalo region support some form of separation.

The Public Policy Institute of New York State said in May 2004 of a potential secession: "Secession would be impossible, and the last thing New York needs is some kind of destructive Upstate-Downstate showdown. But given the prolonged lag in Upstate’s economy, it is time to think seriously about whether there is a way of restructuring the relationship to give Upstate the opportunity—indeed, the freedom—to reduce some of the disadvantages that are smothering its economy."