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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 143-06
May 8, 2006

STATEMENT BY MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON RESIGNATION OF EDC PRESIDENT ANDREW M. ALPER

"New York City, particularly its business community, has been extraordinarily fortunate to have a successful businessman with the global experience of Andy Alper at the helm of its primary economic development agency for the last four years.  The City's economy was reeling after the terrible attack at the World Trade Center site in September 2001 and at that time, the outlook for the City's economic future was cloudy.  From the day he stepped into the public arena, Andy used his extensive skills as an experienced manager, consensus builder and good listener to put New York City on the right track with a calm, steady guiding hand. 

"Andy restructured and professionalized EDC, staffing it with dedicated professionals of the highest caliber and improving the City's relationship with the private sector.  He brought a return-on-investment mentality to the agency's activities, and adopted several policy changes that made EDC's activities more transparent and enabled the public to have a more active role, for example, in the Industrial Development Agency's proceedings.

"Working closely with Deputy Mayor Doctoroff's staff, Andy's efforts can be felt in every borough as he implemented the City's economic development strategy to make the City more livable, business friendly and economically diverse.  Just a few of the shining examples include the plans for Homeport on Staten Island, the redevelopment plans for Long Island City and Flushing in Queens, the Downtown Brooklyn plan and the new cruise terminal in Red Hook, the Hunts Point Vision Plan and the Fulton Fish Market move to the Bronx, and most meaningful to the City's long-term economic security - the stabilization of Lower Manhattan's business community.  Andy was also integral in moving projects forward that had been stalled for years, such as the long-term agreement with the Port Authority on the City's airports and the redevelopment of the Bronx Terminal Market, Municipal Lot 1 in Flushing, the Queens Plaza Garage, and sites 5B and 5C in Lower Manhattan.

"The efforts of Andy and his team have contributed to bringing the average monthly unemployment rate in 2005 to 5.8%, the lowest since 2000, and the average number of residents employed that year to 3.51 million, the highest since comparable employment data collection began in 1978.  These investments taken as a whole will benefit the entire region in the years to come.  We wish him every success going forward as he focuses on family and his philanthropic activities, and thank him for working tirelessly on behalf of all New Yorkers these past four and a half years."







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Jennifer Falk   (212) 788-2958




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