With new census numbers out this morning, we've learned that there's even more room upstate to stretch your legs – if you haven't already moved out.

As NY1's Bobby Cuza explains, while the population in New York City continues to grow to a record 8.5 million, it's a different story upstate with 43 of the state's 57 counties outside of the Big Apple seeing a drop in residents from 2013 to 2014.

That's great news for upstate claustrophobes but not so good for the state that relies on votes in Congress and federal funding formulas to get some much-needed aid. The Empire State used to be able to boast of being the most-populous state in the country but fell to California in 1970. Since then,  we've been passed by Texas and Florida. "We're Number Four" just doesn't have that catchy a ring to it.

It's certainly not downstate's fault.  Fueled by a surge in new immigrants, New York City continues to bulge at the seams with Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx being among the nation's top 50 counties in population gain. The New York metro area is now at a staggering 20.1 million.

One of the many challenges for Governor Cuomo is not just throwing a life preserver to upstate but building an entire boat for the region. While putting $1 billion in investments into Buffalo is an expensive start, the governor is going to have to come up with an entire new approach to upstate to reverse a decades-long population drain for an important region in our country. And this is coming from someone who was born and raised in Albany – and then left home for the big city.

Meanwhile, it's clear that there is only so much gerrymandering State Senate Republicans can do to hold their slim majority. It seems impossible that upstate won't lose a seat or two to the heavily-Democratic city when lines are redrawn after the 2020 Census. You can only rearrange those deck chairs so many times before you realize that the passengers are jumping ship. And please people, let's at least try to keep some breathing room between us and Illinois.

 

Bob Hardt