“I wish it were true. Let me say that. I have carried the secession bill,” Lanza told the Advance/SILive.com. “In spite of all the critics out there, in spite of all the difficulties in terms of making it a reality, I believe secession would be better for the people of Staten Island. ... So I wish the story were true, but it’s not.”
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore) has been a long-time vocal supporter of Staten Island’s secession from New York City. And while he wished this was a hot topic of discussion between him and Gov. Kathy Hochul - it’s not. But a false report published on a purported news website claimed Lanza was backing a fictitious Hochul plan to make Staten Island “a stand-alone municipality.”
The false report -- which has recently been shared via social media -- claimed Lanza was “preparing to endorse a plan being privately advanced by Governor Kathy Hochul to make Staten Island a stand-alone municipality, entirely independent of New York City.”
But there could be nothing further from the truth.
“I wish it were true. Let me say that. I have carried the secession bill,” Lanza told the Advance/SILive.com. “In spite of all the critics out there, in spite of all the difficulties in terms of making it a reality, I believe secession would be better for the people of Staten Island. ... So I wish the story were true, but it’s not.”