Times Sexton Adds New "Sixth Borough"

Metro editor Joe Sexton has been busy answering reader questions the past few days. Here's a good one:

Q. Last year, the Metro section published a one-week series of daily articles (on Sept. 29, Sept. 30, Oct. 1, Oct. 2, and Oct. 3, 2006) about a toilet-related controversy at a chess match in Elista, Russia, in the republic of Kalmykia.

Is Kalmykia considered part of the New York metropolitan area?

-- Max

A. Dear Max: I have always considered Kalmykia to be the city's sixth borough.

Sexton was joking, of course! And although Philadelphia received the most attention in the Times as New York's best fake sixth borough, there have been several others in recent years: Palm Beach, Washington Heights, Miami, Hudson County, Nassau County, Los Angeles, and the Middle East.