I don’t buy that ‘Dutch New York’ etymology – if it was that precise, the sources should be available to confirm it unequivocally and since they don’t seem to be, it smacks of folk etymology.

fwiw, the Word Detective column also expresses another view:

"Hookey" (also spelled "hooky") apparently developed from the colloquial phrase "hooky-crooky" common in the early 19th century, which meant "dishonest or underhanded."

http://www.word-detective.com/070599.html#hookie

Come to that, so does Merriam Webster support the other option:

Main Entry: hooky
Variant(s): or hook•ey /'hu-kE/
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural hook•ies or hookeys
Etymology: probably from slang hook, hook it (to make off)


and then there is the card-game Blind Hookey... were some kids bunking off school to gamble long ago...?

http://49.1911encyclopedia.org/B/BL/BLIND_HOOKEY.htm