Jennifer Chait (212) 788-8479
MAYOR GIULIANI ADDRESSES STATEN ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Cites Increased Economic Development, Lower Crime And New Job Growth On Staten Island
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today delivered the keynote address at the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. The meeting brings together area business, professional and community leaders who act as the promoters, guardians and advocates of both commercial and general interests of Staten Island. This is the fourth time in as many years that the Mayor has addressed the group.
"It's a pleasure to be here again with you this year because it's a great opportunity to assess where we've been and where we are going," Mayor Giuliani said. "Over the last four years, we have come a long way. The way Staten Island was treated by City government five, ten and fifteen years ago exemplified what was wrong with the entire City of New York. Every time this borough had a legitimate concern it had to yell twice as loud to get it heard at all, and when it was heard, there was no guarantee that City government would do anything about it -- except when it came to collecting taxes from businesses. Over the last four years, we have changed the City's way of thinking on policies which were both anti-business and anti-Staten Island.
The Mayor continued, "Staten Island residents -- like residents of Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn -- are no longer treated like second class citizens. Staten Island businesses, like New Yorkers in every borough, are no longer burdened by excessive taxation.
"We recognize that businesses are the backbone of the City. They create jobs for people and do more than any social program could possibly do. The fact that we have just had the strongest year for job growth in 13 years, adding 50,000 private sector jobs to the City's economy, is indicative of policy changes in the right direction.
"We've also cut taxes more than any administration in the history of the City - intelligent, targeted tax cuts of the Commercial Rent Tax, the Hotel Occupancy Tax, and the new proposed elimination of the unfair double taxation on "S" Corporations. And the drive to eliminate the sales tax on clothing purchases - which has been a success already, but on which we are continuing to fight for greater success - started right here on Staten Island. We have cracked down on organized crime's stranglehold on key industries, which prevented competition and drove up prices for legitimate businesses. And since our clean-up of the private carting industry, businesses entering into new garbage hauling contracts in Staten Island are paying an average of 34 percent less than before."
The Mayor also said that the Fresh Kills Landfill will close by December 31, 2001 and will no longer affect the quality of life on the Island. "I'm glad that the days of neglect are over. The days of listening, and coming up with solutions, have begun. We are on schedule in our plans to reduce the amount of garbage coming here, and to deal with the garbage which is already in the landfill by extending recovery systems."
Key economic development accomplishments in Staten Island under the Giuliani Administration include:
- the opening of the Visy Paper Mill this past June - the first new manufacturing plant opened by a major manufacturer in New York City in more than 50 years;
- major improvements to the Staten Island Corporate Park; and
- plans for a $90 million retail project in Charleston as well as for the Staten Island Hotel, the first new hotel on Staten Island in 20 years.
"Over the next four years, we have to keep doing the job we have started. Thanks to the hard work of Staten Island's business community, this borough has come a long way over the last four years. I look forward to seeing Staten Island make strides over the next four years that will make the past four years look like we were only warming up."
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