Long Island cut adrift

[Coriolanus]

U.S. Revokes LI’s Metro Area Status

In a move already sparking protests from politicians and business leaders, federal officials have reversed a 25-year-old decision and stripped Long Island of its status as a metropolitan area separate from New York City.

The decision, while a seemingly arcane matter that deals with statistical reporting, diminishes the Island’s identity, local leaders say, and could lead to a loss of millions of federal dollars.

…

Under the previous guidelines, Nassau and Suffolk counties – with a population of 2.75 million people – were considered by the federal government as a primary metropolitan statistical area. Although Nassau and Suffolk were part of a consolidated metropolitan statistical area comprised also of New York, Northern New Jersey, the primary designation allowed the Island separate statistical status.

Now, Long Island is known as the Suffolk County-Nassau County, New York Metropolitan Division. It is one of four such divisions in what is called the New York-Newark-Edison-NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

So much for Statehood. 2.75 million is right there with Arkansas and Mississippi. Ironically, LI is a GOP stronghold.

New York’s esteemed Senators: - Schumer and Hillary (from Illinois via Arkansas) haven’t said anything yet.

Peter King (my congressman, who was for a while a GOP pariah for voting against Clinton impeachment) should raise some hell in the House.

PK: “Mr. Speaker, I have a mundane point…”

[Coriolanus]

Link from Newsday, Long Island’s own newspaper:

LI folk are third-world outcasts

[Marley23]

So much for Statehood. 2.75 million is right there with Arkansas and Mississippi.

Statehood for whom? Are you referring to that hearing about NYC’s statehood recently? That was purely an intellectual exercise (and a bit of a complaint to Pataki), not a serious contemplation of statehood.

What identity has this place got? The only positive trait that comes to mind is proximity to the City.

[Coriolanus]

*Originally posted by Marley23 *
**Statehood for whom? Are you referring to that hearing about NYC’s statehood recently? That was purely an intellectual exercise (and a bit of a complaint to Pataki), not a serious contemplation of statehood.

What identity has this place got? The only positive trait that comes to mind is proximity to the City. **

Long Island wasn’t turned down for this metro status (and I cannot discern who/what was behind its motivation, what ‘they’ thought it would mean or what it ever meant or what it will mean.)

SDMB thread: The different parts of NYC…

[Coriolanus]

…argh… clicked ‘Reply’ too soon.

Any chance of a new state

I posted to those threads for academic purposes only. I could boil my own feeling as ‘one citizen, one vote’ and LI with its geographical (though mostly Democrat) neighbours in Queens and Brooklyn would be the 14th largest state.

[Marley23]

This sounds like a bad idea to me, but I don’t understand the relationship between my question and your post, Corbomite.

[Coriolanus]

*Originally posted by Marley23 *
**This sounds like a bad idea to me, but I don’t understand the relationship between my question and your post, Corbomite. **

Marley: you asked “what identity” LI has.

I don’t know the criteria of identity that LI had to get in years ago, nor what criteria pushed LI out.

Offhand:
GOP stronghold
18th century (Revolutionary War) British Loyalists/Prohibition smugglers/Amityville Horror/Long Island Lolita/Al D’Amato
Billy Joel/Pat Benatar/Paul Simon

I thought proximity to NYC was the only criteria.