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Charleston + NYC


Spartan

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Charleston has A LOT of infighting over land and annexation, etc. While thinking about this, I had a brainstorm, which I thought was pretty good. Basicly, what Charleston should do is set up Boroughs, much like NYC has. The surrounding towns (Mt Pleasant and North Charleston) would basicly merge with Charleston, and the sourround county areas woudl be divvied up accordingly.

You would end up with 6 boroughs:

Charleston (downtown)

Mount Pleasant

North Charleston

West Ashley

James Island

John's Island

These are already in existance, so all that this plan would do is reinfoce those areas and give them some autonomy. Not too much- but enough to where Mount Pleasant woudl still have a say in how things about built there, and James Island would get its identity back , and some more control over things. Obviously the larger city would have more power and incluence over the areas. That seems like a decent compromise to me. Everyone coudl potentially get what they want, and it makes the metro area stronger.

What do you think?

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:yahoo: That is a fantastic idea, Spartan! In a sense, that's what I've been suggesting to do in merging N. Charleston, St. Andrews PSD (rest of West Ashley), James Island PSD, and Johns Island into Charleston. And don't forget about two other boroughs that would be already included in the city of Charleston: Daniel Island and Cainhoy. This would give you 8 total boroughs:

Downtown

Mount Pleasant

Northtowne (my idea for re-naming N. Charleston)

West Ashley

James Island

John's Island

Daniel Island

Cainhoy

If you talk to many residents, they will tell you that the central metro area of Charleston already feels like just different sections of the city of Charleston (with Mt. Pleasant being the exception). I don't know if people who live in Mt. P would be OK with giving up their identity, but it is worth consideration for the residents there. Again, great idea. And yes, this would make Charleston one of the largest cities in not just SC, but in the whole Carolinas as well.

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Something like this would be great for the area. If only the other cities that would be a part of this could be assured their autonomy this could maybe happen. I know even Charleston would be reluctant to do something like this though. Everyone would be fighting over power balance. I like the idea though very much, it would induce a sense of shared responsibility between the cities.

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What a cool idea. You're right, there's absolutely no difference between the different "towns" in the Charleston area and the boroughs in NYC. Maybe there was 20 years ago, but not now. We definitely need some sort of cohesiveness in our area. What affects Mt. Pleasant affects North Charleston, James Island, and so on. Everyone knows this. It's time to make consolidation a reality.

NYC gets by with 5 boroughs. Maybe we should have 5 too.

Peninsula (Downtown and the Neck)

West Ashley

Sea Islands (James and Johns)

East Cooper (Mt. Pleasant, Daniel Island, and Cainhoy)

Northtowne (founded by Charleston Native) :D

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NYC's boroughs are just a coincidence of the land around it. I would rather see more, just to differentiate Charleston from NYC. I actually like the idea of giving Daniel Island its own borough, though I think Cainhoy could be included with it. I also like the idea of calling North Charleston "Northtowne." The barrier islands shoudl stay separate IMO.

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NYC's boroughs are just a coincidence of the land around it. I would rather see more, just to differentiate Charleston from NYC. I actually like the idea of giving Daniel Island its own borough, though I think Cainhoy could be included with it. I also like the idea of calling North Charleston "Northtowne." The barrier islands shoudl stay separate IMO.

The only reason I'd group Daniel Island with Mount Pleasant is that I think you'd have to throw Mt. Pleasant a bone in order to get them to agree to consolidation. A bigger voting bloc might do it. I agree Johns Island could have its own borough, but it's also still small enough in population to be represented by the same borough as James Island. I'd love to see this idea a reality, and see the discussion of which areas get their own borough be a real one.

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Is there an organization similar to the Midlands Council of Governments in the Charleston area? Perhaps this idea could be forwarded to that entity.

How do the addresses work in NYC? If I write a letter to someone in Brooklyn, will I address the letter as going to "Brooklyn, NY" or "New York City, NY" with the zip code designating the borough?

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Here is a map of SC's 10 COGs:

main_map.jpg

and the link if you are interested: http://www.state.sc.us/cogs/

The stongest and most organized are the ones that follow our major cities: Appalachian, Central Midlands, and BCD.

Is there an organization similar to the Midlands Council of Governments in the Charleston area? Perhaps this idea could be forwarded to that entity.

How do the addresses work in NYC? If I write a letter to someone in Brooklyn, will I address the letter as going to "Brooklyn, NY" or "New York City, NY" with the zip code designating the borough?

I tend to think that either will work. I have seen both though. I suspect that you could set it up however you wanted just so long as mail can reach its destintion.

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The barrier islands shoudl stay separate IMO.

Id like to see Sullivans and Isle Of Palms as part of the Mt Pleasant "borough". Having Sullivans and IOP seperate is just like Brooklyn not having Coney Island and it was part of Nassau County instead of Kings County (see below). Also to keep in mind, the NYC boroughs are also their own counties as well and not all are the same name.

Staten Island = Richmond Co.

Brooklyn = Kings Co.

Queens = Queens Co.

Manhattan = New York Co.

Bronx = Bronx Co.

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I know they are their own counties. The point is to create a similar situation without actually haveing separate counties. The islands are known for being separate places, and IMO they have a much more distinctive identity (beaches) than Mount Pleasant or James Island, which are essentially bedroom communities.

That said I do see that if this were to happen that they would need to be included some how.

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I know they are their own counties. The point is to create a similar situation without actually haveing separate counties. The islands are known for being separate places, and IMO they have a much more distinctive identity (beaches) than Mount Pleasant or James Island, which are essentially bedroom communities.

About the counties, when the 5 boroughs of NYC merged to create NYC as we know it today, the state government actually made sure that each borough was it's own county to cut down on any possible disputes with areas of the old counties that were not incorporated into NYC and to keep two boroughs that shared the same county from having to duke it out with the other over who got what. Nassau and Westchester counties as they exist today were the lands remaining from the formation of these boroughs.

On topic, I'd like to say that I love this idea!

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Interesting, IC.... but I'm not suggesting that Charleston change its county or anything. This is purely an organizational idea at the city-level. Berkely County would have to be involved somewhat since Daniel Island and Cainhoy are within their boundary.

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Doesn't N. Charleston actually sit in three counties?

If the annexation of the Berkeley County tract in between Goose Creek and Hanahan proceeds without incident, yes, the north city will sit in 3 counties. Currently, it's only in Charleston and Dorchester. The city of Charleston is also in 2 counties: Charleston and Berkeley. This borough idea, or multi-city merger might actually progress with cities constantly gobbling up available land. It would calm the perceived need to annex land before another city does.

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Interesting, IC.... but I'm not suggesting that Charleston change its county or anything. This is purely an organizational idea at the city-level. Berkely County would have to be involved somewhat since Daniel Island and Cainhoy are within their boundary.

I still think it would be wise to at least make this "new" Charleston a separate county so that it only has to worry about what going on outside it's boroughs so that government would be a little more uniform across the city. Also, this way, the old county wouldn't have to worry about the city dominating its politics.

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Charleston has A LOT of infighting over land and annexation, etc.

i surmise one could say old CHARLESTON is still having a "Civil War". The rebels are not finish yet. City of Charleston vs Mary Clark...or should that be Mary Clerk vs. Joe Riley? Now Hanahan and Goose Creek rushing to annex land in Berkeley county to stop NORTH CHARLEston that's on the march again... I don't remember much of what North Charleston looked like when I attended "BAPTIST COLLEGE AT CHARLESTON" (now Charleston Southern University). I was 18 years old and new to Charleston in September 1977. I was dissappointed when I discovered Baptist College at Charleston really meant at Charleston with barrick-looking whtie buildings surrounding a beautiful reflectin pond some 20 miles north of downtown and in the middle of sticks and a swamp.

One CHARLESTON like NEW YORK city is a good idea.

It will be interesting to see what CHARLESTON is going to look like when the City starts to fill in all that land it has acquired. I can't believe city of Charleson now reaches inside of FRANCIS MARION NATIONAL PARK. I used to drive through FMNP from Florence county. The highway went through little Jamestown & in the black night it was kind of scary driving alone...

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