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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 181-07
June 10, 2007

MAYOR BLOOMBERG DISCUSSES LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS IN SAFE STREETS, SOUND FINANCES AND INTEGRITY AT CITY HALL IN WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS

The following is the text of Mayor Bloomberg's weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, June 10, 2007

"Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

"If you asked most New Yorkers what they want from their City government, these three items would probably come near the top of any list: Safety on our streets; sound City finances; and integrity at City Hall. I couldn't agree more-and I'm proud to say that last week, there was good news on all three of those fronts.

"Let's start with safety. Last week, the FBI released its preliminary report on crime throughout the United States during 2006. It confirmed that New York remains the nation's safest big city; even as crime went up in the rest of the nation last year, we continued to drive crime here down to levels not seen in more than 40 years.

"Here's what the FBI found: Last year, violent crimes like murder, rape, and robbery went up nationally-but they fell 4.6% in New York City. And while last year saw property crimes like burglary and auto theft fall about 3% nationally, those crimes went down nearly twice as much in our city. Among the nation's 25 largest cities, New York once again came out on top in terms of safety. Crime numbers for 2007 continue these trends; so far this year, crime is down eight and a half per cent compared to a year ago, and it's nearly 28% lower than it was six years ago.

"The great job that the NYPD does in keeping our city safe is a big reason why our city's economy is growing and producing the tax revenues that have created a $4 billion-plus surplus for the City. But we're not squandering our good fortune; instead, we're committing more money than the City ever has before to pay down future costs. That prudent handling of City finances is why last week the independent bond rating firm of Standard & Poor's decided to give the City's bonds their highest rating ever: 'AA.' It was the third time in the last two years that they've raised our bond ratings. And that's really good news for the City's taxpayers. Because an improved bond rating means that when the City borrows money for essential long-term projects, like building new schools and upgrading our infrastructure, we'll pay lower rates of interest.

"Good management of City finances encourages businesses to locate and expand here. So does confidence that City officials will be business-like themselves, and award contracts and make zoning changes based on what's right for everyone-not because of big campaign contributions from people wanting special favors. That kind of behavior is called 'pay to play'-and it's got no place in our City government. So last week, I was proud to stand with Speaker Christine Quinn and other leaders of the City Council in proposing tough new limits on campaign contributions from those who do business with the City.

"When they become law, these measures will give New York City the best local campaign finance system in the nation. And along with safety on our streets and good fiscal management, that will help insure that New Yorkers have the kind of City government you deserve.

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







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser   (212) 788-2958




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