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Updated 3:42 PM
Ongoing Financial Recovery Focus Of State Of City Address
By: NY1 News


Mayor Michael Bloomberg focused on the city's ongoing efforts to recover from the recession during his State of the City address today.

"Let me make this commitment to you, as we begin this new term: We will continue demanding and achieving progress in every area – every day," said Bloomberg from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens. "We will continue going full tilt – full time. And, even as we face difficult budget choices, which will require painful cuts, we will continue insisting that government remain on the side of every hard-working New Yorker. And we will not forget our responsibilities to our less fortunate neighbors."


NY1 Continuing Coverage
Deputy Mayors Linda Gibbs and Ed Skyler will be guests on NY1's political program "Inside City Hall" tonight, where they will discuss the State of the City speech.
In a relatively-sober 30-minute speech reflecting the struggling economy, the mayor outlined a list of goals in the coming year targeting job growth, financial assistance, and help for small businesses.

The mayor said the financial challenges facing the five boroughs are grave, especially given the budget cuts announced by Governor David Paterson yesterday.

"We understand the challenges our state leaders face, but it’s critical that the Democrats and Republicans, in both the Senate and the Assembly, protect our city," said Bloomberg in his ninth State of the City address,. "That's their job. And we've got to help them do it, and hold them to it."

"New York City residents deserve to be treated with fairness and foresight. We are the state’s economic engine, and balancing the budget on the backs of the five boroughs will only run the entire state into the ground," he continued.

To help New Yorkers on a direct level, Bloomberg proposed partnering with banks and credit unions to launch bank accounts with no minimum balances and offering foreclosure assistance to those who need it.

He also announced job training and placement programs to help those hit hardest by the recession.

"We want to make sure that city government and the Bloomberg administration actually works to help small businesses," said City Comptroller John Liu. "Because there certainly a negative sentiment that the government keeps on helping Wall Street and is not helping Main Street in any way."

Moreover, Bloomberg said the city government can make an effort to spend less money by reducing office space by about 10 percent, consolidating back offices, and centralizing payment and billing systems. These changes, Bloomberg says, will save taxpayers money on office space and personnel.

The mayor also touched on the perils of black and Hispanic youth. According to Bloomberg, they have a 60 percent higher unemployment rate and 50 percent higher poverty rate. Moreover, more than 90 percent of murder victims and perpetrators are black and Hispanic.

"These statistics aren’t so different from those in other cities, but they are totally unacceptable here. We don’t and won’t accept them! This is New York! We can do better and we will!" exclaimed the mayor.

In response, he announced a public-private partnership to provide more opportunities for these groups.

He also initiating a plan to cut down on truancy by sending parents text messages when their children are absent from school.

In addition, he has outlined a plan to overhaul the city's juvenile justice system by merging the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Administration for Children's Services. He says he wants the emphasis to be prevention, rather than incarceration.

Finally, he unveiled an initiative to help Haitian New Yorkers in the wake of the country's deadly earthquake.

The mayor said the city will launch a public-private partnership with law firms and other groups to give Haitian New Yorkers help in applying for temporary protected status.

The mayor's announcement comes on the heels of the Obama Administration's decision to grant protected status to Haitians who are illegally living in the United States.

Part of the mayor's third-term agenda includes pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.




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