"Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

"Last Thursday marked the end of the State's legislative session. I'm happy to say that the State passed several of our initiatives that will help fuel our city's continued economic growth, and allow us to move forward with our plan to provide New Yorkers with $1.3 billion in tax relief.

"First, the State passed a proposal eliminating the City's sales tax on all clothing and footwear. This will help to create jobs and grow our small businesses. It also means that city residents will pay lower taxes than they will by shopping on Long Island or in Westchester or Rockland counties. The Legislature also passed our proposal to cut taxes on small businesses in the five boroughs; when fully phased in, they'll mean savings of more than $130 million a year.

"We won legislative approval to continue our $400 homeowner property-tax rebate. Coupled with the 7% reduction in the property tax rate included in this year's City budget, this will reduce the financial burden on homeowners. Finally, State leaders also passed our proposal to establish a child-care tax credit of up to $1,000 for families making less that $30,000.

"These tax cuts will return hard-earned money to the pockets of New York's home and business owners, and provide a boost to families working their way up the economic ladder. I applaud our State leaders for passing these laws, which will help us continue to strengthen our economy.

"If the Legislature meets again in the coming weeks, we're hopeful that they will reach consensus on two other issues that are also central to New York's future - the activation of a recycling transfer station on the Hudson River at Gansevoort Peninsula, and congestion pricing.

"Creating a recycling transfer station at Gansevoort is a critical part of New York City's Solid Waste Management Plan, which establishes the principle that each borough should handle its own waste and recyclables. Currently, our city's streets are clogged with trucks hauling Manhattan's commercial waste to the Bronx and Brooklyn, and taking Manhattan recyclables to the Bronx and New Jersey. Opening the Gansevoort recycling station would allow us ship recyclables by barge; it would also make it possible to handle much of Manhattan's commercial waste that way, too. That would eliminate tens of thousands of miles a year in truck trips-a big plus for air quality.

"To reach our goal of achieving the cleanest air of any city in America, we also need the State to move forward on our pilot congestion pricing plan for the busiest parts of Manhattan during the busiest hours of the week. As our city continues to grow, the costs of congestion - to our health, to our environment, and to our economy - are only going to get worse. The time has come for a sensible congestion pricing plan that will clean our air and expand and improve our regional mass transit system. And with hundreds of millions of dollars of Federal transportation funding available now if we act, we need Albany to step up to the plate. We simply can't let this opportunity pass us by.

"Over the past five and a half years, we've made tremendous strides in improving the quality of life in every part of our city. We still have a lot of work ahead, and I'm hopeful that our lawmakers will continue to do what's right for New York City and the Empire State.

"This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening."