Long Island Secession Movement (Secession in the Air)

The Long Island Secession Movement (Timeline: Secession in the Air) is a political statehood movement that determined whether Long Island (Secession in the Air), consisting of the counties of Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk would become the fifty-first state of the United States of America (Secession in the Air) or remain part of New York (Secession in the Air). The movement started in late 1975 after a report was leaked in Albany stating that Long Island was to receive higher tax rates while keeping the amount New York spends on Long Island. With bombings, assassinations, graffiti, and nonviolent poetry, Long Island became the fifty-first state of the union on July 26, 1988, on the 200thanniversary of New York's statehood.

Early Violence (1975 - 1976)
On November 29, 1975, a government building was bombed in Jamaica. Although no one died, New York declared a state of emergency, and a curfew was placed. The bombers were caught and during their trial, one of them stated: "Lower the tax, and we'll lower the violence. You can arrest me if you want to, but my mind can never be arrested". The bombers were arrested, but Long Island's tax rate went even higher due to the $1,000,000 damage in the bombing. Severe outcry resulted. For the first time, politicians were against the tax. During a New York Congress meeting at Albany on January 8, 1976, when the tax was discussed, representatives from Long Island publicly left the capitol building and physically bought tickets on a bus to Riverhead.

In Manhattan, at 11:54 PM on July 3, 1976, when millions were counting for the 200thanniversary of the declaration of independence signing parties to start, all the major TV stations were hacked and message was broadcast by two unknown men. It read:

Residents of the Republic of the United States of America,

''Natives lived in both of our lands. We fought side by side to stop King George III from establishing a country of tyranny in here. Well, we are being attacked. Tyranny from the State of New York has deprived us of our right to tax with consent. Sound familiar? We establish a list of grievances against New York State:'' ''New York may generate wealth for the United States, but neglects a section of it and instead makes it pay. It is barbaric and insulting. The horror of 1975 is nothing compared to the suffering poor, the underrepresented government, and the unreasonable cost that the State of New York has created. Thank you, God Bless Long Island, and God Bless America!''
 * 1) A raise of 200 dollars for adults to fund the Niagra parks, although many of our poor have never gone to Niagra and can certainly not bare the burden of giving up more food for their families.
 * 2) New York is the Empire State with shining lights, but go a few miles, and you see slums with people living on less than fifty dollars a day.
 * 3) There are counties with millions, and counties of thousands, and they both are equal
 * 4) New York establishes its capital at Albany, yet the majority live within 30 miles of the island.

At noon on July 9, the governor of New York made a speech in Islip. The speech read:

''Long Island is an integral part of New York State. It is not underrepresented. It happened and failed in Québec and Texas, what do you think of Long Island? It will fail. I can assure you that indeed taxes will go low under an independent state, but it would lose its value...''

As he read the speech, the crowd soared into anger and attacked the governor. Helicopters were rushed immediately. When nothing can be done, a solution was reached. A helicopter soared into the crowd and dropped a bomb, killing 13. When the mob was escaping, they raided ammunition stores and fired at the police. The fighting mainly took place at the Montauk Highway. People barged into the suburban houses, and demanded the residents hand over any weapon in the house. Within two hours, when the riots ended, 16 civilians and 12 police were killed, and hundreds more injured. That evening, Gerald Ford, the then-POTUS, said this in a speech made in Washington DC:

''The riots that occured in Long Island was...astonishing. Many thought terrorism wouldn't leave Palestine or Belfast, but...it is in United States territory. Y'all can say that's crazy, but denying the truth ain't easy with rebuttal.''

On July 26, a welfare spending project for Queens was approved. Three months later, the congress of New York voted to end the extra tax on Long Island, and reorganized the counties from four to seven: Upper Brooklyn, Lower Brooklyn, North Hempstead, South Hempstead, Huntington, Brookhaven, and Peconic County. Immediately after, the tension halted, and several residents willingly turned themselves in to the police as an apology to New York.

Peace and Nonviolent Concern (1976 - 1979)
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Tensions Soar Again (1979 - 1982)
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The Gang War of the Eighties (1982 - 1986)
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Campaign & Referendum (1986 - 1988)
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Independence and Aftermath (1988 - present)
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