Much better would be to have New York City (plus Long Island) and Philadelphia append themselves to New Jersey. Overnight, the “new” New York State would become a reasonably conservative place, and it seems likely that fracking would be approved in the Southern Tier. And as an extra bonus, the rest of Pennsylvania would become a solid red state.
This is essentially what has destroyed the mid-Atlantic up through New England: a heavily populated Marxist Urban Megalopolis that cuts a gash through VA, MD, DE, PA, NJ, NY, CT, RI and MA. All those states are deep blue, except VA, which is on its way to the same. The outlying, less densely populated areas in those states, for the most part, remain far more conservative.
“...New York City and Philadelphia append themselves to New Jersey...”
This is the best solution I have seen yet. It may never happen, but it does solve everything.