*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

LOGISTICS AND PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR
NEW YORK CITY’S INAUGURATION CEREMONY ON JANUARY 1, 2010

Note: Times and Details Are Subject To Change

On January 1, 2010, New York City will host an inauguration ceremony on the steps of City Hall.  Michael R. Bloomberg will be sworn in as Mayor; Bill de Blasio will be sworn in as Public Advocate; and John C. Liu will be sworn in as Comptroller.  The program will begin at 12:00 Noon and is expected to last approximately an hour.

MEDIA INFORMATION

The Mayor’s Office issued an advisory to all media outlets asking all outlets interested in covering the inauguration ceremony to pre-register for an event credential. Only media who have pre-registered and present their NYPD press credential upon arrival will receive an event credential at Press Check-in on the day of the event.  Media who have not pre-registered for an event credential will not be admitted the day of the event. Press Check-in will be located at the Media Entrance south of the East Gate of City Hall Plaza along Park Row at Spruce Street.  Check-in begins at 9:00 AM and ends at 11:00 AM sharp on January 1,2010.  All media must be in their designated areas by 11:30 AM.  Media must display their NYPD press and event credentials at all times, and media granted an event credential must remain in their designated press areas during the ceremony. Only media that work out of City Hall will be granted access to their workspaces but must enter and exit the building from the East entrance.  The entrance will be closed for the duration of the program.

The ceremony will air live on NYC-TV Ch 74 and a live webcast will be available on www.nyc.gov

Areas will be set up for television, radio and print reporters and photographers. The City will provide power and multboxes on the “General Press” riser, the radio riser and near the print reporters seating area. 

• Television crews will have access to a “general press” riser, which will be about 100-120 feet from the stage. A live television feed with cutaways will be made available at the Switch on port CTY3 and a straight podium feed will be available at the Switch on port CTY1.  In addition, an HD ASI 16x9 Full Frame  Multicam switch feed will be available on CTY7

• Radio will be set up on a separate riser to the west of the “general press” riser.  Phone lines need to be ordered through Verizon, please contact the Mayor’s press office if you plan to order a line through Verizon.

• Print - there will be limited seating for print reporters available on a first-come, first serve-basis; overflow print reporters will be provided a spot on the “General Press” riser. 

• Photographers will have access to two locations – one level of the “General Press” riser and a press area located to the right and left of podium/front of the stage.  Photographers cannot bring stepping stools of any kind when shooting in the area to the right and left of podium/front of the stage.

PARKING FOR SATELLITE & MICROWAVE TRUCKS

 Information regarding truck parking has been released by the NYPD Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI).  All questions regarding parking should be directed to Lt. Whyte at the NYPD Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information at (646) 610-6700.

INAUGURATION PROGRAM

The 2010 inauguration ceremony will begin with an opening performance by the Brooklyn College Brass Ensemble. The Masters of Ceremony will be six students from Newcomers High School in Long Island City, Queens ranked number 6 of the top 100 High Schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Each student will welcome and introduce a new section of the program. Following the welcome will be the Presentation of Colors by representatives of the City’s uniformed services and FDNY firefighter Frank Pizzaro will sing the Star Spangled Banner.  Invocations by Imam Farooq Abdul Wali (Department of Correction), Rabbi Joseph Potasnik (Fire Department), Reverend Suzan Johnson Cook (Police Department), and Father Robert Thelen (Department of Sanitation) will follow.

Jeffrey K. Oing, Supervising Judge of the New York County Civil Court, will administer the Oath of Office to Comptroller-elect John Liu, who will then deliver his Inauguration Address.  U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, will administer the Oath of Office to Public Advocate-elect Bill de Blasio, who will then deliver his Inauguration Address. Cajun Cellist Sean Grissom will perform America the Beautiful. Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York, will administer the Oath of Office to Mayor Bloomberg, who will then deliver his Inauguration Address.  The program will close with a musical performance by the P.S. 22 Chorus of Staten Island.

SERVICE CELEBRATION

Prior to and following the ceremony at City Hall, the Mayor will celebrate the inauguration by participating in service opportunities in the remaining four boroughs. In January 2009, Mayor Bloomberg’s State of the City address outlined a pledge for New York City to lead the way in promoting a new nation-wide era of service and volunteerism. One year later, the Mayor will celebrate the inauguration with a service tour focused on the key goal of the NYC Service initiative: connecting New Yorkers who want to serve with meaningful opportunities that address the City’s most pressing local needs.

The Mayor will take part in four service activities with community organizations across the City. The activities will be open to press as photo opportunities only.  A press van will be provided for those members of the media that will travel with the Mayor to all of the service activities.

Prior to the inauguration, the Mayor will start his day by preparing meals in Brooklyn with CHIPS. Also known as Park Slope Christian Help, CHIPS is dedicated to helping the poor, the needy, and the homeless as well as those in emergency situations. Founded in 1972, CHIPS serves more than 70,000 meals annually and gives temporary shelter to more than 2,000 people each year. Mayor Bloomberg will join volunteers in preparing meals for the New Years Day lunch that will be served to 150 people.

Following the inauguration the Mayor will travel from Manhattan to Staten Island on the Staten Island Ferry where he will help assemble care packages at the Staten Island Borough Hall with American Recreational Military Services (A.R.M.S.). As part of an ongoing joint NYC Service/Mayor’s Office of Veteran’s Affairs initiative, ARMS has helped the City assemble and mail over 3,000 care packages to New York City troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. Founded by grassroots volunteers in 2003, A.R.M.S. is a local, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of giving back to members of the United States armed forces and their families. Since March 2003, A.R.M.S. has provided significant services, including shipping more than 800,000 lbs. of necessities to servicemen and women overseas, distributing 22,800 pre-paid calling cards and collecting 38,250 presents for the children of mobilized soldiers.

The Mayor will then visit Materials for the Arts (MFTA), where he will join volunteers in sorting materials donated by a wide variety of businesses and individuals for distribution to New York City public school arts programs and cultural organizations. MFTA, created by the Department of Cultural Affairs in 1978, provides thousands of public schools and cultural organizations with the materials they need to support and expand their programs. Headquartered in a recently expanded 35,000 square foot warehouse in Long Island City, MFTA collects reusable donated items and distributes them free of charge to public schools, non-profit arts organizations, and social, health and community service organizations that have arts programs in New York City.  In 2008, MFTA collected 1.3 million pounds of goods worth more than $6 million for use by teachers, students and artists at 1,800 schools and non-profits across the five boroughs.

The last stop on the Mayor’s inauguration service tour will be THE POINT, a youth organization in the Bronx, where he will join City Year members in creating murals for public schools. The murals, depicting children’s book covers will be donated to PS 154 and MS 424 in the South Bronx to kick off City Year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service activities. THE POINT Community Development Corporation is a non-profit dedicated to youth development and the cultural and economic revitalization of the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx. Working with their neighbors to celebrate the life and art of our community, THE POINT’s programming falls within three main headings - Youth Development, Arts and Culture and Community Development - aimed at investing in the long-term betterment of Hunts Point. Volunteers from City Year, a national non-profit organization that asks 17-24 year olds to give a year of service to help close the education gap, have supported THE POINT’s Youth Development Program since 2004. City Year New York is currently working in 20 public schools throughout the city. Corps members serve as full-time mentors, one-on-one reading tutors, and operate after school programs. City Year hopes one day that the most commonly asked question of a young adult will be “where did you do your year of service?”

9:30 AM         
Prepares Meals with CHIPS, Park Slope Christian Help
200 4th Avenue at Sackett Street
BROOKLYN

2:30 PM
Assembles Care Packages for Armed Service Members
Staten Island Borough Hall
10 Richmond Terrace
STATEN ISLAND

3:30 PM
Sorts Donations at Materials for the Arts
33-00 Northern Boulevard at Honeywell Street
QUEENS

4:30 PM
Paints Mural at THE POINT with City Year
940 Garrison Avenue at Barretto Street
BRONX 

PRESS VAN 

A press van will be available for reporters and photographers travelling to all the service stops. The press van will depart the East Gate of City Hall at 9:00 AM, return to City Hall for the inauguration ceremony, follow the Mayor to each stop and return to City Hall following the 4:30 PM service opportunity. The press van will not travel to Staten Island, instead the Mayor will take the 2:00 PM State Island ferry – public transportation to the ferry is encouraged. Due to limited space, only those who reserve a space on the press van will be admitted and only one reporter and one photographer per news outlet will be permitted. To reserve a spot on the press van, please email Emily Boylan at eboylan@cityhall.nyc.gov