Amid Secession Talk, Mayor Warns State on Taxation

Lending lighthearted support to a City Council proposal that the city secede from the state, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday the plan makes a point that is "well taken."

The city sends the state about $11 billion more each year than it receives back in services, an imbalance that is prompting Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., a Democrat who represents parts of Queens, to introduce legislation to lay the groundwork for the city to break away from the state.

"I can't believe he thinks it is going anyplace, but I think he's right in joking about it," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday.

The mayor warned that if the state tries to squeeze too many tax dollars out of the city, it would no longer be a cash cow.

"You can't do it in such a magnitude that you make New York City a less desirable place for people and business and immigrants and entrepreneurs, because you are just killing the golden goose," he said.

On Monday, Mr. Bloomberg called on state lawmakers to give the city its fair share in Governor Spitzer's budget and said the city is being shortchanged by about $500 million.

Mr. Vallone told The New York Sun that his idea is "most definitely not a joke," but added that he is encouraged that the mayor "likes the fact that I am thinking about it."