"Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

"Over the past five years, New York City has rebounded strongly from the combined aftermath of 9/11 and the effects of a deep national recession. Nowhere has that recovery been more dramatic than in the Bronx. And last week, we took another big step forward in revitalizing a long-neglected part of that borough: the South Bronx community of Hunts Point.

"The opening of the new Fulton Fish Market last November brought 600 new jobs to Hunts Point. That gave the food processing industry centered there a welcome shot in the arm. Now, using City, State, and Federal funds, we're building on that success and fulfilling another key part of the "Hunts Point Vision Plan" that we've developed with neighborhood organizations: Beginning to establish a South Bronx Greenway that will provide new access to the waterfront and to playing fields on nearby Randalls Island. When it's completed, the Greenway will have eight and a half miles of bike paths, grassy walkways, and open space. Elements of the Greenway, including a new waterfront park at Hunts Point Landing, will start taking shape as early as next summer.

"The resurgence of Hunts Point and the rest of the Bronx is powered by our five-borough economic development strategy of making communities more livable, more business-friendly, and more economically diverse. Livability starts with safety, and over the past five years, we've driven down crime in the Bronx by more than 18%. We've also funded construction and preservation of more than 22,000 affordable apartments and houses in the borough. We're investing more than $300 million in expanding and renovating parks and playgrounds across the Bronx. And we've already completed close to half of the 27,000 new classroom seats that our Administration plans to create in Bronx schools by 2009.

"To support the small businesses that are the backbone of the borough's economy, we've helped launch a business improvement district on Fordham Road; our Business Solutions Center on 149th Street has helped more than 3,000 Bronx businesses obtain more than $10 million in private financing; and we've helped place more than 4,400 Bronx residents in jobs in just the past two years.

"All of these efforts are paying off in a growing local economy. Four years ago, unemployment in the Bronx stood at 10%. Today, we've cut it to 5.5%-and nearly 22,000 more Bronx residents are working now than were at this time in 2002.

"But the good times in the Bronx are just getting started. This summer, we broke ground on both the long-awaited Bronx Gateway Center, which will bring 2,300 new jobs to the borough, as well as the new Yankee Stadium, one of the biggest projects in the city, and one that is committed to training and hiring qualified Bronx residents for at least 25% of its thousands of construction and post-construction jobs.

"It's all part of the biggest influx of private development that the Bronx has seen in a long, long time. And combined with strategic investment of public dollars, it's going to ensure growth and prosperity in the Bronx for many years to come.

"This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening."