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The City of Greater New York, both corporately and commonly now described simply as the City of New York or New York City, describes the expanded city created on January 1, 1898 by the incorporation into the city of Richmond County, Kings County part of Queens County and the eastern part of The Bronx, east of the Bronx River. (The west Bronx, west of the Bronx River had been annexed in 1874.)

Since the enlarged city at the time contained the majority of New York State's entire population (currently approximately 40%) and the enlargement increased the city's already enormous power within the state, the state legislature established certain oversight powers within the city. For example, some issues of taxation and changes in governmental procedures require state approval or granting of specific home rule powers.

Conversely, the State Constitution was amended to provide that no city could elect the majority of the State Assembly, a provision later struck down by the US Supreme Court as violating the Federal Constitution. The provision of the 1897 amalgamation Charter for equal repesentation of the five separate Boroughs on the New York City Board of Estimate suffered a similar fate.

The "Greater City" exists as a result of actions of the New York State Legislature, and, as such, could be reduced in size by the same mechanism. A non-binding referendum in the borough of Staten Island was held in 1993 to consider whether that borough should be allowed to secede from the City. The New York City government and then-Mayor David Dinkins opposed the vote, contending that the referendum should not be permitted by New York State unless the city issued a home rule message supporting it, which the city would not. Then-State Governor Mario Cuomo disagreed, and the vote went forward. The vote was in favor of secession through the approval of a new city charter making Staten Island an independent city.

The Staten Island secession movement was defused, or at least deferred, by the election on the same ballot of Rudolph Giuliani as New York City mayor, who had campaigned on the promise that Staten Island's grievances would be addressed. Giuliani's plurality in his narrow victory over Dinkins was aided by overwhelming support from Staten Island. Two of the borough's biggest demands were closing the Fresh Kills Landfill and making the Staten Island Ferry free.

• Staten Island Secession at the Museum of the City of New York web site