In short
Staten Island’s attempted secession from New York City about 30 years ago, framed as an early example of how resentment can fracture a democracy and later echo nationally.
Guest backgrounds
No guests are named in the provided transcript. Host is Ben Nadeff-Haffrey (also described as having done a deep dive).
Key claims
Staten Island residents felt ignored and forgotten, then “had enough,” leading to a four-year battle over the city’s “soul.” The episode argues this dynamic parallels today’s national political tearing, with outer-borough resentment spreading to figures like Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani.
Notable examples
“Raise your hands” secession discussion; a National Enquirer poll claiming Trump “wins” and others “beat everybody,” and references to White House outcomes.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:07Pushkin
0:12Five miles off the shore of Manhattan, there is a place called Staten Island. We don't live in the glitter of Broadway. We don't live in Yankee Stadium. Where we live is in everyday Staten Island. We weren't sophisticated. We were not, you know, east side of Manhattan or west side of Manhattan liberals. We were country people. And 30 years ago, Staten Island decided it didn't want to be part of New York City anymore. Who will you trust? Your friends and neighbors and the people in Staten Island? or you trust the people five miles overseas. Staten Island was trying to secede from New York City, but not without a fight.
0:55If nothing else, I hope that I can convey to the people of Staten Island that I deeply care about them and about all of them. If this were a political visit, why in blazes would I come? It's a pipe dream. It's just not going to happen. People are not facing the reality. My God, what are they thinking? What unfolded over the span of the next four years was a battle for the soul of the city, which I as a person living in the city had never heard about. And the more I researched, the more I realized this is exactly what's happening in the country right now. This is what happens when a group who feels like they've been ignored and forgotten for decades decides that they've had enough.
1:38All of you who are in favor of seceding from the city of New York, would you please raise your hands?
1:52This is a story about a democracy falling apart. It's about neighbors turning on each other and a very specific strain of resentment that started in the outer boroughs of New York City and then went national, with people like Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani. We reached for a feeling that exists in this city, but we're not stopping, are we? In the polls, generally speaking, National Enquirer did a poll that's unbelievable, that says I win, that you beat everybody. They win. Right into the White House. I'm Ben Nadeff-Haffrey, and I have done a deep, deep dive and to this overlooked and misunderstood moment from 30 years ago when New York City almost tore itself apart.
2:39Because I think it anticipated everything about how our country is tearing itself apart right now. This summer, we're celebrating our 250th birthday as a country. It's the anniversary of an act of secession. This is who we are. This is what we do. So it's time to ask a big question. How do you solve the Staten Island problem? The Forgotten Borough, I don't know. I think we just might get rid of that nickname. My position was to ask yourself, what costs freedom? The Staten Island Problem is coming July 9th from Pushkin Industries. Listen on the Revisionist History feed wherever you get your podcasts.
From the publisher
On the 250th anniversary of the United States, Revisionist History investigates the overlooked story of New York City almost breaking apart as Staten Island threatened to secede.
Over the course of five episodes, The Staten Island Problem reconstructs the battle for New York City amidst the turbulent early 1990s — the rise of Rudy Giuliani, the peak of the homicide rate, the Wu-Tang Clan, a young Donald Trump, and the first Black mayor of New York — all through the prism of the city’s Forgotten Borough. And ultimately asks: What do you do when a democracy looks like it’s falling apart?
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