MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG OUTLINES ACHIEVEMENTS IN MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE BUSINESS FRIENDLY AND MORE BUSINESS-LIKE

New York City Uses Technology and Resourceful Techniques to Increase Productivity
Economic Development Initiatives Stretch Across the Five Boroughs

During the first year of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's administration, the City government has become more efficient, innovative, technologically adept, and citizen service friendly. The City has developed new ways to attract and retain businesses, serve the public, and do more with less.

"During the current fiscal crisis, we cannot afford to operate at anything less than full efficiency," Mayor Bloomberg said. "In business, we are judged by performance, not by how much we spend. Government should also be judged by the same standard. Cutting $2.3 billion from the budget does not mean we cannot provide good or improved services to the public and that is exactly what we have done this year. From using technology to improving citizen service to cutting into the City bureaucracy of cars and permits, we are streamlining government and doing better with less.

"At the same time, we must continue to invest in our future through economic development initiatives. The easier it is to do business in New York City, the more businesses we will attract. Whether we are re-zoning neighborhoods to ease new commercial activity, rebuilding Lower Manhattan, developing the Far West Side, or strengthening business districts outside of Manhattan, we have developed a wide array of programs to give businesses every reason to come here and stay. Meanwhile, we continue to vigorously pursue the high profile events that promote tourism and increase economic activity, whether it's the Republican National Convention in 2004 or the Olympics in 2012," Mayor Bloomberg said.

I. Improving Citizen Service By Bringing Technology to Government

Digitizing X-Rays: In November 2002, the Health Hospitals Corporation (HHC) completed the installation of Picture Archiving Communications Systems (PACS) at all HHC facilities. Each year, PACS electronically stores digital x-ray images for one million radiology cases, replacing the use of outmoded and cumbersome x-ray film. Prior to the systemwide installation of PACS, it took 24 to 48 hours to access almost every radiology image. With PACS, every image is available within 4 minutes. Using PACS, a patient's medical team can review the digital x-rays from virtually any location over secure Internet gateways 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, consult on treatment options faster and more efficiently, and maximize the productivity of scarce radiology and medical expertise. Digital storage further improves patient care by allowing for easy comparison of images over time, and by providing detailed and accurate magnifications of images.

The program saves doctors time and hospitals money - $1 million at Elmhurst alone. In fact, instead of having a radiologist at all times at both Elmhurst Hospital Center and the Queens Hospital Center, just one is needed for both locations at night. The PACS system maximizes the productivity of scarce radiology and medical expertise. While under 10% of hospitals nationwide have digitized x-rays, the PACS system has been installed at every HHC facility in the City. This has saved $4 million and will save $11 million annually.

Computerizing Physician Orders: In 2002, HHC completed system-wide installation of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) throughout its 11 acute care hospitals and at over 100 community-based clinics. Annually, HHC clinicians now use CPOE to order approximately 13 million pharmacy prescriptions, 96 million lab tests, and 1 million radiology tests. National safety experts widely agree that using a CPOE system reduces medication errors by as much as 50% to 70%, and HHC's medication error rate with this system is less than .000001% - or less than one in a million. CPOE also provides clinicians with alerts and warnings, and detailed medication history. CPOE further improves patient care by giving clinicians faster centralized access to lab results, allowing doctors to treat patients promptly. For routine lab tests, results are available in under 2 hours, urgent tests are available in under 30 minutes, and emergency screening results are back in less than 10 minutes. HHC remains far ahead of the national trend in this effort, with 100% of all HHC physicians using the CPOE system for all their ordering. Only 5% of all hospitals nationwide - public and private - have achieved this goal. Ultimately, these innovations, not only enhance patient care, but also improve the bottom line - patients are treated more quickly, at a lower cost, and insurers are providing higher reimbursement rates to healthcare facilities with CPOE, an increase of as much as 4% in 2002.

Putting All Medical Records On-Line: The successful implementation of the Computerized Physician Order Entry system is hastening the completion of HHC's overall goal of storing all patient records in its Electronic Medical Record (EMR). Currently, the electronic medical record of every one of HHC's 1.3 million patients includes medication history, lab results and radiology tests. The EMR also links to the Micromedex patient information system, which clinicians use to provide patients with a printout - in English or Spanish - of complete information about their prescribed medications, specific medical conditions such as asthma, and other critical medical information.

Improved Adoption Access: In February 2002, the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) launched the "Meet Our Kids" website. The website allows interested families to view photos and stories of children who are waiting for a permanent, loving adoptive family. The benefits of having adoption information on-line include immediate availability of adoption information, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, significant savings in staff time, and the ability to reach adoptive homes outside of New York City, which is a great way for ACS to find homes for children who might be hard to place. Since "Meet Our Kids" was launched, inquiries to the ACS Parent Recruitment Hotline have increased by 65%, with Internet inquires accounting for about 50% of the average 600 total calls to the hotline each month. "Meet Our Kids" is also one of the most visited areas of the ACS website, consistently ranking among the top 10 pages viewed with about 2,200 hits per month. Savings for the City include a reduced number of mailings, reduction in staff time on the phone, and digital photography cost savings of $35,000 a year.

Benefit QuickCheck For Seniors: In May 2002, the Department for the Aging released QuickCheck, an easy to use on-line tool that helps New York City's senior citizens check their eligibility for a variety of benefits and programs. The QuickCheck user completes an on-line application, and can then choose from sixteen assistance programs administered by various branches of federal, state and local government. QuickCheck informs the applicant which benefits they are most likely to receive and then provides a link to the administering agency's eligibility form. Following the introduction of QuickCheck, the number of monthly visits to Aging's website rose by nearly 50% to over 23,000 hits.

State of the Art Revenue Collection: Thanks to NYCServ, New Yorkers can now pay parking tickets, property taxes, water bills and other fees in one quick visit over the Internet at www.nyc.gov/finance. Through NYCServ, which went online in February 2002, New Yorkers can also contest tickets online by conducting a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge via email. Individuals can also track down towed cars and pay certain business taxes. Since January, NYCServ, has serviced 630,000 transactions, collecting a total of $1.4 billion.

Purchasing Permits On-Line: This year, Parks established an online credit card payment system for special events and tennis permits. The Parks website also allows users to obtain special events permits/applications, athletic permits and applications, forestry permits, lifeguard applications, guidelines for donating works of art to Parks, volunteer sign up forms, and more.

Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting: In 2002, the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting loaded all permit applications online at www.nyc.gov/film. Prior to this, the agency had been processing permits by hand and with typewriters. In addition to streamlining the permit process, the agency has installed a new phone system whereby an individual answers the phone rather than an automated voice mailbox system.

Mayor's Management Report - Streamlined and Online: In September 2002, the Mayor's Office of Operations released the newly streamlined Mayor's Management Report. The new MMR has been redesigned as a "Public Report Card" to help citizens, civic groups and public officials understand how government is performing. The City introduced a companion website, www.nyc.gov/myneighborhoodstats, to the MMR that makes obtaining and understanding the data more user-friendly and accessible. The website also allows the public to view locally mapped performance statistics, so the average user can enter his or her zip code and learn the local crime statistics, park cleanliness rates, fire response times and more. Since its launch on September 24th, the eMMR has received over 170,000 page views and over 59,000 people have taken advantage of the neighborhood performance application.

II. Making Government More Efficient

Telecommunications Cost Savings Initiative: In 2002, the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) began an aggressive review of all City telecommunications needs to figure out ways to reduce telecommunications costs without reducing service. DoITT negotiated a revised local telephone usage billing plan with Verizon that is expected to reduce expenses by approximately $10 million annually. In addition, the City will save $1.7 million by canceling unused voice and data lines, and save $2 million by securing better pricing for various telephone services.

Leveraging Technology Resources: At the beginning of this year, Mayor Bloomberg instructed DoITT to assist agencies in cutting their technology and telecommunications costs and upgrading their technology infrastructure. DoITT began sharing its data center and fiber resources to save agencies the costs typically associated with securing Internet access or housing data center facilities at alternate locations. Some examples of these projects include:

Paperless Procurement: Starting in July 2002, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) suspended the monthly distribution of all paper copies of its requirement contracts (RC) to City agencies. Instead, City agencies now must log onto the City's Intranet to view RCs. To make the new system work, DCAS developed a searchable database of all RCs as well as the central storehouse catalog of items in inventory. Users can easily search the databases based on key words, contract numbers, vendor names or contract types, and view or print electronic versions of the actual RC reports. By making the information available electronically, paper waste has been reduced dramatically and RCs are accessible instantaneously. This program has saved $55,000 in FY2002. In FY2003, and every year thereafter, the program will save $100,000.

Paperless City Offices: In 2002, the Human Resources Administration (HRA) converted 19 of 31 job centers to a paperless office system, and expects to have all the centers completed by June 2003. With the paperless system, employees enter information about clients directly into the computer, instead of filling out forms in longhand or on a typewriter. The system prompts workers to ask for information and ensures that data is not missed. As workers become increasingly familiar with the system, the time necessary to serve each client will continue to decrease, and to date, HRA has imaged 230 million documents. The paperless office has already substantially cut processing time and eliminates paper files and the need to search for them.

City Fleet Reduction Program: In February, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) developed the Citywide Fleet Reduction Program (FRP), designed to reduce the number of City vehicles by 10%. The program has already taken 643 City vehicles off the road and onto the auction block. The FRP is estimated to save the City up to $20 million over four-years. Additionally, in 2002, Parks experienced its lowest vehicle out of service rate in 25 years. This 4.7% rate was achieved through managed competition, using privatization and better public management of the Parks' garages.

Parking Permit Reduction: Unless it is being used for official business, there is no reason a City vehicle should be able to park anyplace when the other eight million people the City have to pay for their parking. In March, the Department of Transportation (DOT) began reducing the number of City issued parking permits. The City cut the number of permits by 30% and cut the duration of each permit in half.

Created a Cultural Development Fund: The Department of Cultural Affairs is implementing a streamlined agency-funding process to help non-city owned cultural institutions. The goals of new process is to enhance access to City funding, expedite funding decisions and payments, reduce the administrative burden for applicants, and improve the ability of agency and elected officials to do comprehensive local cultural development. This fund will replace the duplicative Arts Development and the Program Development funds, which had created a complex and lengthy process where payments were not received until a year after applications were submitted.

Increased Efficiency in Adjudication of Consumer Affairs Cases: In 2002, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) began requiring anyone who receives a notice of hearing to meet with a pretrial settlement officer. Of those cases steered into this program, over 50% settled saving approximately 500 hours of judicial time, or $40,000. In addition, DCA now notifies those receiving hearing notices who fail to appear will result in an automatic default judgment in favor of the City, meaning that DCA no longer needs to hold time-consuming inquest hearings in order to assess fines.

III. Rebuilding Lower Manhattan

Mayor's Vision for Lower Manhattan: If New York City is going to remain the "Financial Capital of the World," we need to find new ways to serve businesses, attract businesses and grow the economy. That comes through negotiation, innovation, planning and persistence. This month, the Mayor outlined his vision for Lower Manhattan, which included proposals for opening the waterfront to the public, increasing affordable housing, and ensuring Lower Manhattan's future as a leader in the global economy. The Mayor's vision calls for 21st century transportation links to mass transit and commuter rails as well as one-seat rides to the area's international airports, the creation of two anchors for residential areas, Fulton Market Square and Greenwich Square, a proposal to create a new tax incentive zone to spur the relocation of foreign multinational corporations headquarters to the area, and initiatives to create new and improved public places/streetscapes within a loop linking the neighborhood's residential areas and plazas, and cultural institutions. The premise of the plan is to make visionary use of public resources in the transformation of Lower Manhattan.

Assisting Lower Manhattan Businesses Large and Small: Over the past year, the staff of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has met with every company in Lower Manhattan with 200+ employees. So far, 63 offers totaling about $223.5 million have been accepted, meaning 56,266 jobs will be retained downtown for at least 7 years, and 7,815 retained elsewhere in the City. An additional 3,770 jobs may be generated downtown. To help smaller businesses, EDC has awarded more than 10,000 Business Recovery Grants of almost $400 million to small businesses, along with $17.7 million in Small Firm Attraction and Retention Grants.

Launching the $8 Billion Liberty Bond Program: The Liberty Bond program offers tax incentives to secure significant private sector investments to rebuild Lower Manhattan and other parts of the City. The program will work to ensure the City's long-term economic health and establish downtown as a vibrant, mixed-use 24/7 community rich with new commercial, retail, and residential development.

Lower Manhattan Information Campaign: The Lower Manhattan Public Information Campaign was created in response to a significant demand for a credible, "one-stop" source of information regarding Lower Manhattan's recovery from the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. In the months following the attacks, information about the area's recovery appeared everywhere - however, many of Lower Manhattan's residents and workers did not feel that it was reliable. The campaign, led by the City of New York in partnership with the LMDC, State and Federal government entities, provides people who live in, work in and visit Lower Manhattan with essential news and information about the area and its recovery. In addition to the development of a comprehensive website, located at www.LowerManhattan.info, materials distributed include a newsletter, palm cards, posters, and advertisements to help promote Lower Manhattan as a place to live, work, and visit.

IV. Making New York City More Business Friendly

Expansion of the Far West Side: The redevelopment of the massive 400-acre Hudson Yards area on Manhattan's West Side will lead the way for the expansion of the Midtown Central Business District, creating new housing and open space, and a multi-use sports and exhibition facility as part of an expanded Convention Center complex. In 2002, the Department of City Planning (DCP) and the MTA entered into a memorandum of understanding to jointly prepare a consolidated environmental impact statement for both the subway extension and zoning changes. In June, the City retained the urban design consultant, Cooper, Robertson & Partners to assist in preparation of an urban design master plan for the area, and a financial consultant team led by Economic Research Associates will forecast commercial and residential demand, and assist in the developing financing strategies for the subway line extension. In September, a consultant was retained under a $40 million contract to conduct the environmental review and prepare the preliminary design of the subway extension, and in November, DCP and EDC held public presentations that explained the design principles that would guide the development of the area. A preliminary exploratory session for the joint Environmental Impact Study on the rezoning and #7 line subway extension is scheduled for late January.

Strengthening Business Districts in the Outer Boroughs: The Bloomberg Administration has been working to strengthen regional business districts outside of Manhattan through targeted rezoning, coupled with streetscape improvements and other infrastructure investments. New taskforces consisting of City agencies, local residents and business leaders have developed comprehensive strategies to rezone, redevelop, and reinvest in neighborhoods ranging from Downtown Brooklyn to Downtown Jamaica to Flushing, Long Island City, and the Hub in the Bronx.

Restructuring the Economic Development Corporation (EDC): EDC has been completely restructured into a client-focused organization with a mandate to become the City's advocate to the business community. In the past year, EDC staff has met with hundreds of corporate executives and decision-makers to promote New York City as the world's premier place to do business. In 2003, EDC plans to begin visiting overseas companies that do not have a presence in New York City but clearly should, focusing their efforts on industries critical to New York such as financial services, professional services, biotechnology, media and entertainment.

Helping Small Businesses: The Department of Small Business Services (SBS) has also articulated a new mission - to support the formation, growth and expansion of the City's small businesses by providing business assistance, fostering neighborhood development and promoting financial and economic opportunity through government procurement. To that end, the agency was renamed the Department of Small Business Services to help identify SBS as the go-to agency for New York City's small business community. Extensive restructuring has resulted in SBS eliminating extraneous functions, streamlining processes, changing staff, and focusing its operations to greatly enhance its customer service, all focused on the small business community. The agency is also launching satellite business centers in all five boroughs; the first is opening South Bronx Overall Development Corporation in the Bronx.

Growing the City's Business Improvement Districts: Eight initiatives were launched in May to boost the positive impact of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), including:

Encouraging Signs that New York City is Coming Back: The tragic events of September 11, 2001, and a declining national economy had a devastating effect on New York City's economy. In the final quarter of 2001, New York City lost 82,400 private sector jobs. Initiatives described above have helped stabilize the City's economy. The decline has steadied in the first three quarters of 2002 with a loss of 3,700 private sector jobs. Among industries critical to New York, the service industry added 8,400 jobs in the first nine months of 2002, after losing 20,200 jobs in last year's fourth quarter. The trade sector added 7,900 jobs in 2002's first nine months, compared to a loss of 18,400 jobs in the last quarter of 2001. Job losses in the Financial, Insurance and Real Estate sectors have eased, with 4,700 jobs lost in the first nine months of 2002, following the loss of 27,800 jobs in 2001's final quarter. And the hotel industry has seen steady improvement this year, as third-quarter occupancy rates were 74.8%, up 5.5% from the same period a year earlier.

V. Neighborhoods and Livability

Building New Housing: This month, Mayor Bloomberg announced a new program to build 65,500 new housing units through rezoning, Brownfield remediation, and new investment of public and private dollars. The plan includes assembling vacant and under used plots of land for affordable housing, using vacant City owned land for housing, rezoning neighborhoods once designated as manufacturing or commercial zones, and moving non-marine essential uses from the waterfront to make room for housing.

Community Gardens Settlement: In September 2002, the Mayor and New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer reached an agreement that enables the City to proceed with plans for the construction of more than 3,000 units of affordable housing while raising the number of protected Greenthumb gardens in the City to 500. Almost 200 gardens have already been transferred from HPD to Parks. The agreement resolves a three-year-old lawsuit over the development of City-owned property containing Greenthumb gardens.

The Greening of New York: In 2002, Parks continued the development of a greenway around Manhattan, opening the $3.3 million Harlem River Park. The interim greenway will open in 2003. Parks also began replacing asphalt lots and dirt fields with synthetic turf which can withstand heavy four-season use, with maintenance costs going forward. Eight new fields were built in 2002 and 21 additional fields synthetic fields are funded for development.

The Mayor and Governor Pataki also announced the transformation of 67 acres of industrial waterfront into a world-class public park, increasing access to the East River, protecting natural and historic resources in the Fulton Ferry district and transforming abandoned piers into a waterfront destination. Brooklyn Bridge Park will include open space, a riverside promenade, recreational amenities, cultural programs and some commercial development. The park will stretch along the East River for 1.3 miles from south of the Brooklyn Bridge at Atlantic Avenue to north of the Manhattan Bridge at Jay Street.

New Neighborhood Projects: The Gateway Center, a $192 million retail center in East New York, brings more than 1,700 jobs to New York City and is home to ten national retail chains and three family-style restaurants. The project also includes 2,400 new housing units. Gateway Center's impressive roster of retail tenants includes Babies "R" Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, BJ's Wholesale Club, The Home Depot, Circuit City, Famous Footwear, Marshalls, Old Navy, Staples and Target. The Center's restaurants include Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Boulder Creek Steakhouse. In addition to generating revenue and creating jobs, the project will provide a number of other public benefits, valued in excess of $33 million, including the creation of a 17-acre public park - the first in New York City to provide a regulation cricket field - and a new wetland habitat. Infrastructure improvements include the creation of a new interchange from the Belt Parkway and associated roadway improvements.

In addition, the American Craft Museum was selected to redevelop the Two Columbus Circle building, which borders the southwest corner of Central Park. The museum will bring new cultural life to Columbus Circle, acting as a gateway to Central Park and linking visitor destinations such as Lincoln Center and the 53rd Street museum corridor.

Diplomatic Parking: In August, the Mayor announced a historic Diplomatic Parking Program that has improved traffic flow and safety, and made it easier for missions and consulates to conduct their official business. The agreement dictates that mission and consular officials must comply with all New York City parking rules, pay portions of outstanding debt, and will receive country specific on-street parking spaces. The Diplomatic Parking Program requires Diplomatic and Consular officials to pay future parking tickets and a substantial portion of the parking debt that has accrued since 1997. The agreement sharply reduced the total number of Diplomatic and Consular vehicles in New York City with on-street parking privileges by approximately 75%, from 2,600 to 530. In addition, if Diplomatic and Consular officials do not pay their future parking tickets, the State Department will suspend or refuse to renew their registrations and the City will reduce or eliminate the parking spaces assigned to each mission or consulate.

VI. Promoting New York City to the World

NYC's Olympic Bid: In November 2002, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) designated New York City as the United States Candidate City for the 2012 Olympic Games. This allows New York City to enter the international phase of the process, which culminates in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) making its final decision in Summer 2005. The City and NYC2012, in collaboration with the USOC, are now formulating their international strategy. The Olympics would serve as a catalyst for development for economic development in every borough.

The World Economic Forum: In February 2002, 30 Heads of State from around the world, 73 ambassadors, hundreds of cabinet ministers as well as union leaders, religious figures and reporters from major news organization from around the globe came to midtown Manhattan for the World Economic Forum. Prior to this, the World Economic Forum had never been held anywhere other than Davos, Switzerland, and the summit was planned and executed in a matter of weeks and was not disrupted by protests.

NFL Kickoff Live From Times Square: An estimated 500,000 people came to Times Square to help kick off of the NFL season. The City received a multi-million dollar commitment from the NFL to help promote tourism and convention business through their national media and marketing programs including the use of NFL network television promotional time, a contribution to the City's September 11th memorial plans, and a commitment to distribute a substantial portion of the NFL disaster relief funds that it set up with the NFL Players Association following September 11th to the City to help with the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan.

WNBA All-Star Game: New York City and the New York Liberty have been selected to host the 2003 WNBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. The WNBA All-Star Game will be held for the first time on a weekend, making its national network television debut as ABC broadcasts the event live on Saturday, July 12, 2003.

Permanent Host Committee: The City, in a joint effort with NYC & Company, created the NYC Host Committee in order to research, target and secure high-profile events that have a substantial economic impact on the local economy and provide a platform to showcase the City both nationally and internationally. Once New York City is selected as host city for a given event, the NYC Host Committee helps bring the public and private sectors together to ensure that the event runs smoothly and that event organizers have a positive experience interacting with the multitude of government agencies.

Republican National Convention: This summer, New York City presented its bid to the Republican National Committee (RNC) site selection committee. The world-famous Madison Square Garden is the centerpiece of City's bid to host the convention in 2004 and the RNC is expected to make a decision soon. The City also submitted a bid to host the Democratic National Convention; however, it was awarded to Boston.

Super Bowl: The NYC Host Committee assembled the first-ever "think tank," comprised of some of the City's top creative minds and business leaders to propel New York City's bid to host a Super Bowl in either 2008 or 2010 to the next level. Other cities have staged 10 - 14 days of pre-event promotion, but the New York City "think tank" is working on an entire season of events - commencing with a grand kickoff event, similar to this year's hugely successful event NFL Kickoff in Times Square, and culminating with the Super Bowl.