MAYOR GIULIANI RELEASES MAYOR'S PRELIMINARY MANAGEMENT REPORT

New York City Remains Safest Large City In America

City's Economy Stronger Today Than It's Been In Decades

Private Sector Job Creation Soars To Record Levels In 1999

Number of City Welfare Recipients Falls To Lowest Level in More Than 30 Years

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today released the Mayor's Preliminary Management Report (MMR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000. The MMR, measures managerial performance and service delivery by City agencies for the period from July 1, 1999 to October 31, 1999 (and for selected programs through December 31, 1999), and details continued improvements in public safety, welfare reform, job creation, and the City's economy.

Published twice a year in accordance with the City Charter, the MMR provides New Yorkers with an objective performance report card in areas including public safety, quality of life, transportation, health and human services, technology, and customer service. It highlights accomplishments, as well as City services that require additional improvements.

"Today New York City is a better place to live, work and visit than ever before," said Mayor Giuliani. "The City's economy is stronger, our streets are safer and cleaner, and this past year New York City enjoyed its strongest private sector job growth on record. New York City's job growth now exceeds the job growth in America. Since 1995 our welfare rolls have been cut nearly in half to their lowest level in more than 30 years. We have cut taxes over the past six years by more than $2 billion -- more than any administration in the history of the City. When combined with our proposed further tax cuts of more than $2 billion, the total value of our tax reduction program will be $4.5 billion annually by 2004.

"New York City serves as an example to cities across the country that innovative management reforms and increased agency accountability can turn a city around. Building on these accomplishments, it is now our goal to make these successes permanent," the Mayor stated.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In 1999 New York City experienced its largest single-year private sector job growth on record with the creation of 81,100 jobs -- surpassing the previous year's record of 77,400. During this Administration, the City has experienced the strongest six-year job gain on record, with the creation of more than 379,000 new private sector jobs since December 1993, compared to the loss of over 320,000 jobs during the last recession in the early 1990s. In 1999 New York City's private sector employment grew by 2.7%, outpacing the rest of the country's employment, which grew by 2.3%, as well as the State's employment, which grew by 1.4%. Since 1993 New York City has also outpaced the rest of the State with a job growth of 12.8%, significantly more than the rest of the State's job growth of 7.7%.

The City has added over 23,500 construction jobs since 1993. The Department of Buildings (DOB) confirms the renewed strength of New York's construction industry: the number of building permits issued for new buildings increased by 26% from July to October 1999, compared to the same months in 1998.

¨ The total market value of taxable real estate properties has risen by 15% since FY 1995.

¨ Visitors came to New York City in record numbers in 1999, with more than 34 million tourists visiting the five boroughs, adding an estimated $15.5 billion to the City's economy.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The Administration's successful efforts to reduce violent crime continued in Calendar Year (CY) 1999, when overall crime dropped an additional 9% compared to the previous year, to its lowest level since 1968, when modern reporting methods were instituted. Based on the FBI Crime Index, New York City remains the safest large city in America. Other significant accomplishments for the time period CY 1993 through CY 1999 include:

¨ Motor vehicle grand larceny was reduced 65%
¨ Burglary was reduced 59%
¨ Robbery was reduced 58%
¨ Grand larceny was reduced 42%
¨ Felonious assault was reduced 37%
¨ Forcible rape was reduced 32%
¨ Crimes against persons were reduced 51%
¨ Crimes against property were reduced 56%

During the first quarter of FY 2000 the Police Department's average reported response time to critical and serious crimes-in-progress calls fell to 9 minutes, compared to 9 minutes 18 seconds during the same period in FY 1999.

As a result of the Administration's efforts to rid the City's streets of drunken drivers, during CY 1999 drunk-driving related traffic fatalities decreased 32%, from 34 fatalities to 23 fatalities, while drunk-driving related traffic accidents decreased 14%, from 1,973 accidents to 1,695 accidents.

The City continues to strengthen its efforts to combat domestic violence by expanding its public education campaign, increasing teen and family outreach initiatives, fortifying safe alternatives, and reinforcing its police efforts. The NYPD has established Model Domestic Violence Teams in precincts experiencing the highest reports of domestic violence. The Teams are designed to improve domestic violence-related investigations, increase apprehensions, and enhance support services for victims. In the first four months of FY 2000, domestic
violence arrests by these teams went up 87% compared to the same period last year, before the teams were established. Based on this success, NYPD plans to double the number of precincts in which the enhanced program operates.

From CY 1998 through CY 1999, the City experienced the lowest average of civilian fire fatalities for any two calendar year period since 1946. Of the seven major American cities surveyed by the New York City Fire Department, including Detroit, Philadelphia Baltimore, Dallas, Chicago and Washington DC -- New York City suffered the fewest per capita civilian fire fatalities, averaging 1.5 civilian fire fatalities per 100,000 residents. Since Bunker Gear was introduced in February 1995, firefighter burns have been reduced by more than 50%.

In FY 2000 the Department of Transportation (DOT) continued to implement traffic engineering measures that have significantly improved pedestrian and motorist safety and mobility. As a result, in September 1999 DOT received the American Automobile Association's (AAA) Distinguished Achievement Award for community traffic safety programs. The award recognized DOT's outstanding success addressing local traffic safety issues through education, engineering, and enforcement. New York City was one of only two communities nationwide to earn AAA's highest award.

EDUCATION

The City's capital commitment to the Board of Education's (BOE) five-year plan is the highest ever at $6.99 billion. The City funds an increasing percentage of the BOE's budget -- 47.7% in FY 1999 -- while the federal share has fallen to 9.2%. Since 1993 the City has hired an additional 12,630 new teachers, bringing the total number of New York City teachers to 78,162, the highest level in 20 years.

Along with the BOE, the School Construction Authority (SCA) created 117,695 new seats during the school years 1994-2000, exceeding new enrollment for the same period by 21,068 seats. By comparison, the creation of new seats from 1990 to 1993 fell 58,639 seats short of new enrollment over that period. Improvements in the SCA's management and accountability have also led to more timely and higher-quality work. The percentage of construction projects completed on time or early has risen from 14% in FY 1995 to 70% in FY 1999. In addition, SCA is completing new construction projects in the least amount of time -- an average of 13 months, compared to 41 months in 1992.

As of December 1999, the Connecting Libraries and Students Project (CLASP), designed to encourage children in kindergarten through grade eight to read more and to make full use of their neighborhood libraries, has been fully implemented in all City school districts, reaching 61,852 students. The project provides children with field trips to local branch libraries, literacy programs, workshops on new library technology and library card registrations.

Since 1996 there has been a 342% increase in the number of Internet connected computers available to the public at City libraries.

While student enrollment is up 1% this school year, special education enrollment is down 6%.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

One of the Administration's highest priorities has been to help New Yorkers on welfare move from lives of dependency to self-sufficiency. The City's welfare rolls are at their lowest level since May 1967 and have been cut nearly in half since 1995, falling from a high of almost 1.2 million people in March 1995 to 621,902 people in December 1999.

Improving the quality of health care for all New Yorkers also remains a top priority. The health-related indicators demonstrate a City that is healthier and more efficient at delivering health care-related services.

¨ Teen births have decreased to 9.5% in 1998, the lowest rate in over 30 years.

¨ During the first four months of FY 2000, 40% more pregnant women were receiving prenatal care in their first trimester, compared to the same period in 1995.

¨ In 1998, the most recent year for which data is available, the infant mortality rate was at an historic 101-year low.

¨ Comparing July-October 1993 to the same period in 1999, the average hospital stay has been reduced by 23% -- from 15.4 to 11.8 days.

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¨ The average waiting time on the Domestic Violence Hotline was 9 seconds.

¨ The average waiting time for mammography screening appointments has fallen from 15 days in 1995 to 3 days in 1999.

¨ The number of reported new AIDS cases declined by 61% from CY 1993 to 1999.

¨ Tuberculosis cases are down 58% since 1993, to their lowest level in at least 13 years.

¨ During the first four months of FY 2000 new lead poisoning cases were down 49% from the same period in 1995.

¨ Child support collections totaled $372.9 million in CY 1999, the highest amount ever collected in a one-year period.

¨ The City's foster care population has declined 18% - from 42,669 in December 1996 to 34,788 in November 1999, -- with more than 15,000 adoptions. This is a 30% decline since the record high in December 1991 when the foster care population was 49,163. From 1995-1999, the number of adoptions has increased nearly 94%, compared with the previous five-year period.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Administration is committed to strengthening the City's economy by continuing to invest in and rehabilitate its infrastructure. The Mayor noted in his recent Financial Plan that $12.2 billion would be devoted to improving the City's transportation, mass transit, water and sewer, and sanitation systems.

Significant findings in the area of infrastructure include:

¨ The average overall condition ratings of the City's 14 heavily traveled bridges, including the four East River Bridges, are up 17% since 1993.

¨ From July through October 1999, traffic signal installation has more than doubled when compared to the same period in 1998, with 100% of traffic signals installed within six months of approval.

¨ Installation of priority regulatory signs -- i.e. stop, yield, do not enter, and one-way signs -- is up 60% since 1995.

¨ More than 1,800 acres have been added to City parkland since FY 1994.

¨ During the second quarter of FY 2000, the City's streets received their highest cleanliness rating in the history of New York City surveys, with 89.7% of City streets reported clean. During the month of November 1999 the City's streets received the highest monthly rating ever recorded with 90% of City streets reported clean.

¨ In April 2000, all 59 districts citywide will begin receiving weekly recycling collections.

¨ During the Department of Transportation's (DOT) most recent 10-week pothole repair campaign, which concluded in December 1999, DOT repaired a total of 31,881 potholes, almost doubling its goal of 16,000 pothole repairs.

By November 1999, the Department of Buildings (DOB) assigned 21 inspectors and five support staffers to its Quality of Life Team, which is responsible for inspecting potentially illegal subdivisions of one-, two-, and three-family homes. The Department continues its extensive recruitment efforts to staff the Team with a total of 23 inspectors.

¨ During the first four months of FY 2000, the Department received 3,923 illegal conversion complaints, compared to 3,146 complaints during the same period of FY 1999. The Quality of Life Team made 5,514 field visits and issued 3,595 violations during the reporting period, compared to 3,089 field visits and 2,043 violations during the first quarter of FY 1999.

The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) has succeeded in turning around the City's core infrastructure building and maintenance programs. The Department's on-time project performance rose from 84% during July-October 1998 to 93% during the same period in 1999. In addition, 94% of construction projects were completed within budget.

COMMUNITY SERVICES

In 1995, Local Law 80 made it a criminal misdemeanor to sell box cutters to children under 18. In 1998, the Mayor signed Local Law 22, which raised the legal age to purchase box cutters from 18 to 21 and expanded the ban on box cutter possession from banning them on school premises to banning possession in any public place.

A Summer 1999 enforcement initiative by the Department of Consumer Affairs found 86% of merchants complying with the law that prohibits the sale of box cutters to anyone under 21 years old. The compliance rate was the highest ever, showing a 9% increase in compliance from February 1999, and a 45% increase in compliance since 1997.

The Human Resources Administration has decreased the waiting time for clients to receive home-care services.

¨ The Department for the Aging has reduced the processing time for SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption program) applications.

¨ The Department of Consumer Affairs has also significantly reduced the applicant waiting time at the Citywide licensing center

TECHNOLOGY

By Executive Order the Mayor created the Technology Steering Committee, which oversees the use of technology in key City initiatives and provides a multi-year framework for the use of information technology. One of the Committee's main goals is to complete the consolidation of Citywide payments, licensing and adjudication, thus increasing efficiency, cost effectiveness and the quality of customer service.

Governing magazine praised the NYPD's Compstat system writing: "New York [City] was the first major city to use technology to organize its crime fighting efforts, contributing the now-famous drop in its crime rate."

The number of page views by visitors to NYC.gov™, the official New York City Web Site, reached 8,585,613 during the first four months of FY 2000, a 111% increase from the same period in FY 1999. In response to increasing numbers, the New York City Office of New Media (ONM) has been working to break new ground in providing the public with electronic access to City government by further developing NYC.gov™. New Yorkers can now pay parking tickets, apply for City jobs, obtain neighborhood refuse collection and recycling schedules, and locate a variety of City forms and applications on-line.

 

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