Printer Friendly Format
  December 7, 2003
www.nyc.gov

New York City: Coming Back Stronger Then Ever
By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

From Day One, our Administration has focused on creating jobs and opportunity in all five boroughs. By working to make New York more livable and more business-friendly, we’re laying the foundation for a strong, diversified economy. And there’s plenty of evidence that our strategy is working; the outlook for New York’s economy continues to get brighter by the day.

The proof is in the numbers: during the three months between July and September, there was a 1700-job increase in private sector employment in the five boroughs. That helped us post the first quarter in economic growth in two and a half years. And over the last few weeks, more businesses with more jobs have been launched in the Big Apple.

Two weeks ago, for example, I took part in the ribbon-cutting for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel—the first part of the new Time Warner building on Columbus Circle to open. The hotel is creating nearly 400 new jobs in all 5 boroughs—and our Department of Small Business Services helped the hotel fill two-thirds of those jobs with City residents. That means that more than 260 men and women in our city will be getting their first paychecks from new jobs just in time for the holidays. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Container Store, a growing national chain, opened its first outlet in the city, creating more than 200 more new jobs. And because of our Administration’s efforts, Gelmart Industries, a garment company that was born in Queens more than 50 years ago, has agreed to come home to the City’s growing industrial park in College Point. And it will be bringing 140 new manufacturing jobs with it.

Wall Street has also played a big part in our economy’s turnaround. Last week, City Comptroller Bill Thompson reported that the city’s financial services firms generated more profits during the first six months of this year than they did during all of 2002. Our Administration is focused on keeping New York’s financial district the center of the global economy. In recent weeks, we’ve helped persuade major employers, such as the Oppenheimer Funds, to join the more than 70 firms with more than 70,000 employees that have made long-term commitments to keeping their offices—and jobs—downtown.

Three weeks ago, I helped inaugurate restored PATH service to a temporary station at the World Trade Center site, and last week the Federal government made a $2.85 billion down payment on downtown mass transit projects, including a new, permanent PATH station. Those improvements, along with the new parks and open spaces our Administration is moving ahead on, will help make Lower Manhattan a diverse and vibrant commercial and residential downtown for the 21st Century.

The combination of 9/11 and the national recession hit New York City hard, and we haven’t recovered fully. But our Administration’s efforts to improve the quality of life, attract businesses and create jobs are paying off. New York’s economy is coming back.

www.nyc.gov