Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today unveiled the City's newest tool to promote tourism - 17 new public service announcements in which celebrities invite listeners to visit New York City. These new PSAs will play on radio stations across the country, and will also be heard locally when callers are put on hold at various locations including City Hall, NYC & Company, Telecharge and dozens of hotels throughout the City. NYC & Company Chairman Jonathan Tisch and President/CEO Cristyne L. Nicholas joined the Mayor for the announcement at City Hall along with top designer Nicole Miller, actor Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior from The Sopranos), pop artist Peter Max and salsa legend Willie Colon (escucha en español), all of whom are featured in the PSA recordings.

"Time and time again, celebrities who live and work in New York have given back to the City they love," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Now potential visitors will hear directly from our famous friends why they should come visit us this summer. Tourism is a vital component of our City's recovery and there has never been a better time to visit the greatest city on Earth. In addition, we are delighted to be using these wonderful recordings here at City Hall and hope they entertain callers with their wit and humor."

"Mayor Bloomberg and his administration understand the importance of tourism and have been hard at work courting visitors, companies and major conventions to bring their business to New York City," said Tisch. "While a small gesture, the fact that City Hall will be joining dozens of other city entities in playing these celebrity on-hold messages is symbolic of this commitment. At the same time, millions of potential visitors will be hearing these messages around the country thanks to the generosity of the almost 50 radio stations that will play them as PSAs."

Other celebrity recordings include Whoopi Goldberg, Al Roker, Marc Anthony, Paul Shaffer, Vanessa Williams, Valerie Harper, restaurateur Danny Meyer (Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern), Joan Rivers, Cindy Adams, Wynton Marsalis, Kathie Lee Gifford, former Mayor Ed Koch, and Delta Air Lines CEO Leo Mullin.

"The generous celebrities who volunteered their time to record these messages understand that tourism brings in billions of dollars, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and makes possible our wonderful museums, Broadway shows, restaurants, stores, attractions and so much of what makes New York City unique," said Nicholas. "Everyone, including these celebrities, love New York and we're looking forward to continuing to welcome the world."

The PSAs will begin airing on close to 50 radio stations across the country next week and continue through September 15th. Stations include WINS-AM (NYC), WEBE-FM (#1 station in Fairfield County), WICC-FM (Bridgeport's dominant news station), WFAS-AM/FM (White Plains), WPDH-FM (Poughkeepsie), WPAT-FM (NYC Spanish language station, "Amor"), WSKQ-FM (Top-ranked NYC Spanish language station, "La Mega"), WHTZ-FM (NYC, Z-100), WWPR-FM (NYC, Power 105), WPLR-FM (#1 in New Haven), WYBC-FM (New Haven), WABC-AM (NYC), ESPN (NYC), WNEW-FM (NYC), WBAB-FM (Long Island), WBLI-FM (Long Island), WEZN-FM (Fairfield County), WEFX-FM (Stamford), WSTC-AM (Stamford), WNLK-AM (Norwalk) and WKHL-FM (Stamford).

The recorded messages will be heard locally when callers are put on hold at various locations including City Hall, NYC & Company, area businesses such as Telecharge and at hotels including the Inter-Continental The Barclay, Inter-Continental Central Park, Crowne Plaza (all NYC locations), Manhattan East Suite Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Marriott Marquis, The Rhiga Royale, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton Central Park & Battery Park, The Metropolitan, The Regency, The Regent Wall Street, Doubletree, W Times Square and Doral Park Avenue.

The recordings were created by The Nancy Richards Group and Michael Fazio, technical production was done by Musicworks Incorporated, and public service announcement placements were made on a pro-bono basis by Helane Naiman of HN Media & Marketing, Inc.

To listen to the recordings, call (212) 484-1200 and ask to be put on hold. Visitors can also log onto www.nycvisit.com for more tourism information.