Continuing Business Development and Job Creation Citywide
By Mayor Rudy Giuliani
The economic boom in New York City over the past eight years has been
the product of a variety of different factors. Our historic drop in
crime has not only made our streets safer, but has also made our neighborhoods
more business friendly. Employers now bring their businesses to New
York in record numbers, leading to a remarkable surge in the number
of private sector jobs, and the movement of more than 640,000 people
from welfare to work. In addition to the enormous reduction in crime,
our lower taxes and fiscal responsibility have given businesses attractive
incentives for investing their future in New York City. But perhaps
one of the best aspects of New York's renaissance has been the fact
that all five boroughs have been able to share in the safer streets,
increased development, and record job growth that have distinguished
our City over the past eight years.
Revitalization projects are essential for creating safer neighborhoods
and a better quality of life. I am proud of my administration's reputation
for building better opportunities for New Yorkers through record business
development and public-private partnerships in each and every borough,
and I believe that this success will be the catalyst for our strong
recovery during these challenging times.
Last week, we took another important step in this direction when
we broke ground for a new state-of-the-art seafood market in the Hunts
Point section of the Bronx. By moving the outdated Fulton Fish Market
to this new location, the Bronx will benefit from approximately 1,000
new jobs and much added revenue, while New York City as a whole will
commit to preserving the $1 billion industry that has been such a
valued part of our history for more than two hundred years. We will
at the same time preserve the neighborhood around the South Street
Seaport by encouraging housing, retail, and museum development. The
new Hunts Point Fish Market will be yet another shining example of
how development projects greatly contribute to the betterment of neighborhoods
and the quality of life throughout the entire City.
I was also pleased to announce two other major revitalization projects
over the last few weeks - the opening of the new Kings County Hospital
in Brooklyn, and the development of a new graphic communications facility
in College Point, Queens. The new Kings County Hospital will provide
Brooklyn residents with a more modern and efficient facility and access
to the best quality health care available. A new printing and graphic
communications center meanwhile, will protect one of New York's valuable
industries in the years to come, and will contribute to the enormous
success of the 550-acre College Point Corporate Park. That site is
now home to more than 175 businesses, and approximately 5,500 employees,
and is an excellent example of my administration's commitment to revitalization
in all five boroughs.
We have witnessed the renewal of Staten Island - the City's fastest
growing borough - through such measures as an $81 million renovation
of the St. George Ferry Terminal and the construction of Richmond
County Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees. Queens has been
revitalized through the strength of the $2.3 billion Queens West project,
which includes 6,400 residential housing units, vast amounts of office
and retail space, a new 300-room hotel, and two new public schools.
New businesses and national retail chains have helped to create nearly
16,000 new jobs in the Bronx, with the new Hunts Point Fish Market
certain to add to this growth. Brooklyn - the City's most populous
borough - has similarly benefited from the addition of nearly 16,000
jobs and increased revenue, due to such measures as the new $85 million
Atlantic Center retail development and construction of the Coney Island
Cyclones new home, KeySpan Park. The renaissance of Manhattan, and
of New York City as a whole for that matter, has been symbolized by
the renowned revitalization of the crossroads of the world, Times
Square.
It is clear that the improved quality of life that New Yorkers have
enjoyed for the past eight years has been the product of many diverse
development projects citywide. With this in mind, we must continue
our commitment to business and civic development and job creation
in each and every borough, so that we can better weather the storm
of the recent tragedies that have struck our City, and so that we
will emerge from these challenges stronger than ever.
