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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 029-06
January 26, 2006

MAYOR BLOOMBERG LAYS OUT BLUEPRINT FOR NEW YORK CITY'S FUTURE IN 2006 STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today presented an ambitious and comprehensive blueprint for achieving long-term stability and growth in every area of life important to New Yorkers in his annual State of the City Address. Following the challenge he issued in his Inaugural Address, the Mayor laid out an aggressive plan to confront intractable problems to take New York to greater heights. 

Building on his strong record of success, the Mayor addressed job creation, housing, education, health care, government and judicial reform, poverty, the City's fiscal stability, quality of life, and public safety in his fifth State of the City Address. The Mayor delivered the State of City at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island.

"After starting this decade at the peak of an economic boom, we soon tumbled into the darkest of valleys.  Since then, against all the odds, our City has climbed back up that mountain - faster than anyone thought possible," Mayor Bloomberg said.  "As we look ahead to 2006 and beyond, we recognize that this is a special moment for New York.  Now, we can sit back and let the power of the moment wane.  Or, we can grab hold of it and set New York on the road to long-term strength, stability, and success, so that when the tough times return - and they always do - we will be better prepared to meet them than ever before. Fellow New Yorkers: such a future is now within our reach. More precisely, it's within the reach of 8.1 million people - with our arms stretched out and linked together."

The specific projects and proposals that Mayor Bloomberg outlined today include:

Jobs and Economic Development

"In October, I set a goal of creating 250,000 new private sector jobs over the next five years and to make sure that all communities have access to them.  To do it, we're going to invest in economic development projects, make New York the most small-business friendly city in the nation and encourage growing industries," Mayor Bloomberg said.

  • Break ground on the waterfront esplanade and the reconstruction of Front Street at the Staten Island Homeport.

  • Choose a private development proposal to transform the Iron Triangle in Willets Point into a mixed-use community with parks, jobs and housing.

  • Begin the largest rezoning in decades of Jamaica, Queens to create a vibrant transportation-oriented business district that capitalizes on the AirTrain and its connection to Kennedy Airport while protecting the character of the neighborhood.

  • Develop the East River Science Park, where 2,500 bio-tech jobs will be created on Manhattan's East Side.

  • Begin expansion of the #7 Train on Manhattan's West Side this summer - representing the first major expansion of the subway system in 20 years.

  • Begin expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to increase New York City's competitiveness in attracting large conventions and meetings. 

  • Open the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal which will become home to the Queen Mary II and create 600 new jobs on the Brooklyn's Waterfront.

  • Expand development of the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

  • Develop Fresh Kills into a beautiful expanse more than twice the size of Central Park and add substantial acreage to Staten Island's "Bluebelt" conservation system.

  • Use the Office of Capital Project Development to work with the City's public and private partners to ensure that all the City's large-scale projects get built on time.

  • Accelerate the redevelopment of the World Trade Center Site by urging individuals to set aside personal financial interests and focus on bringing retail, hotel, commercial and residential spaces to the area. Urge the Port Authority to commit to occupying Tower 3 and quickly identify a developer for Tower 4 so that the Trade Center is not a construction site for the next 15 years.

  • Select a plan for the future of Governors Island that capitalizes on its beauty, location and history.

  • Establish the "Business Express" website for small business owners to set up personal accounts and get help starting and growing their businesses with access to key information about State and City permits and licenses.

  • Develop the "50 by 15" plan to increase the number of annual visitors by 50 million by 2015.

  • Work with the City Council to establish explicit MWBE purchasing goals at every City Agency to level the playing field for women and minority owned businesses.

  • Implement a Strategic Land Use plan to examine all City neighborhoods and perform a needs assessment focusing on housing, transportation, energy and infrastructure.

Affordable Housing

"When we talk about quality of life, we also need to talk about affordability. New York's future depends on our ability to make sure that middle and working class families can afford to live here…And, it's why we are creating the most ambitious affordable housing initiative in New York City history," Mayor Bloomberg said.

  • Build and preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing by the year 2013 as part of the Administration's $7.5 billion housing plan.

  • Fund 15,000 units of affordable housing over the next 12 months including the first mid and high-rise co-ops to be built in the South Bronx in decades.

  • Develop 500 new Nehemiah Homes at Spring Creek in Brooklyn.

  • Designate a 5% preference for City Workers for affordable housing lotteries.

  • Designate a 30% preference for Veterans to purchase restored homes taken in foreclosure by the Federal Government.

  • Extend the $400 property tax rebate for three more years.

Health and Human Services

"Attacking poverty also means making sure that all people receive the quality health care they deserve. And I am pleased to be working with a City Council Speaker who is as passionate about improving health as I am," Mayor Bloomberg said.

  • Launch an aggressive public-private partnership to reduce the number of New Yorkers living in poverty, with concentrated efforts in high need communities. 

  • Launch the Integrated Human Services System - a secure on-line information and application system for all those who receive Food Stamps, public health insurance, and other benefits. 

  • Develop and implement the Human Resources Administration's "Back-to-Work" initiative to make all job placement contracts performance-based to help clients find and hold jobs.

  • Break ground on a new Emergency Assistance Unit for the intake of homeless families.

  • Work with the City Council, Albany, Washington and firms in the private sector to invest $100 million to create secure electronic health records in community clinics and in the offices of doctors who practice in New York's poorest neighborhoods.

  • Embark on an unprecedented campaign to improve the health of children by working to ensure that virtually every school student has health insurance.

  • Reduce the number of HIV-related deaths by more than 40% over the next three years through intensifying prevention, focusing on programs that actually deliver results, improving access to treatment and urging the State to pass legislation that will make it easier to find out HIV status.

  • Reduce the number of City residents at highest risk for diabetes complications by 20% by the end of 2008 through an aggressive outreach and tracking campaign.   

Education

"Over the past four years, we've taken major strides in transforming our schools and providing our children with the education they will need to lead New York forward. Today, students are making records gains on their test scores, schools are safe, and the intolerable achievement gap that exists among different ethnic groups has begun to close. But, we all know we have a long way to go. In the fall, I proposed several major initiatives to take our reforms to the next level. We are charging ahead on each of them and at the same time putting in place even more bold programs," Mayor Bloomberg said.

  • Establish the Partnership for Teaching Excellence with NYU and CUNY - focused on teacher training and development.

  • Create more small schools and alternative programs that offer high school students more choices and routes to graduation, employment and post secondary education.

  • Open the first of seven academically selective schools - the Brooklyn Latin School.

  • Expand charter schools in New York City.

  • Increase "Autonomy Zone" Schools to allow greater freedom and accountability for schools.

  • Continue the fight for State funding through the Campaign for Fiscal Equality.

  • Expand and create of more pre-K programs.

Public Safety

"Public Safety is the foundation of our City's prosperity. Over the past four years, the NYPD has cut crime by more than 20 percent.  Today, our City is safer than it has been in more than four decades. Today, people ask: How low can crime go? No one knows the answer, but we're going to continue to doing everything we can to find out," said Mayor Bloomberg.

  • Expand "Operation Trident" to the South Bronx to attack stubborn crime problems by splitting precincts.

  • Reduce Quality of Life crimes by expanding "Operation Clean Sweep" to new locations throughout the City.

  • Expand of the Real Time Crime Center to include crimes other than murder.

  • Complete construction of the City's forensic DNA laboratory.

  • Lobby for passage of State Law mandating collection of DNA samples for all criminal convictions.

  • Lobby the State Legislature to abolish statute of limitations for rape and sexual assault cases in which there is DNA evidence.

  • Propose legislation giving the New York City Police Commissioner a seat on the boards of the MTA and Port Authority to ensure greater integration between government agencies for security planning, capital project planning and incident command.

Gun Initiatives

"This year, we will marshal all of our resources and work with all of our partners in public service, whether they are across the rotunda in City Hall, up in Albany, or in big cities across the nation - both to root out and punish these criminals and to stanch the flow of illegal guns into our city… Getting tough on illegal gun sales is not a conservative or liberal issue. It's an issue of law and order and life and death," Mayor Bloomberg said.

  • Create a "de-briefing" protocol for every felony gun defendant so that we learn about where and how and by whom illegal guns are sold.

  • Flag and prioritize the files of gun offenders so that when they get re-arrested for any other crime, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and probation and parole officers will know the type of threat these offenders pose.

  • Expand Operation Impact by piloting new technology using microphones to instantly pinpoint video cameras at the source of gunshots.

  • Work with the City Council to enact a one-gun-every-three-months limit on purchases in New York City.

  • Expand Operation Impact to crack down on shootings.

  • Work with the State Legislature to develop a Gun Offenders Registration Act - similar to Megan's Law - that would require gun offenders to regularly verify their addresses with the police.

  • Work with the State Legislature to increase the penalties for criminal possession of a loaded gun to a Class C felony punishable with a minimum sentence of 3½ years in jail.

  • File lawsuits against irresponsible gun dealers.

Government Reform

"Improving the long-term health of government also means strengthening its integrity," Mayor Bloomberg said.

  • Propose a ban on all gifts from lobbyists.

  • Require lobbyists to file disclosure reports electronically.

  • Create an online database with the Campaign Finance Board in order to end "pay-to-play" and strengthen the integrity of City government.

  • Implement the charter amendment that binds all City Administrative Judges to a code of ethics.

  • Create a new office of Administrative Justice Coordinator to improve the workings of tribunals so that all New Yorkers are treated fairly and justly.

  • Work with the municipal unions on defined contribution pension plans to control spiraling costs and decrease the likelihood of tax increases and services cuts in the future.






MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser   (212) 788-2958




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