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Miller scores Bloomberg’s budget plan in Briarwood

By Tommy Hallissey

A group of roughly 100 attended the town hall-style meeting held at the Samaritan Village building in Briarwood. Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) sat alongside Miller.

Miller, who was elected speaker on the strength of support from the Queens delegation to the Council, said the borough and the rest of the city should have a government that is more responsive to the needs of the people.

In the same breath he faulted Bloomberg for not talking to the people and said the mayor's agenda reflects that. But the mayor has been very visible in Queens, with recent visits to Kew Gardens, Hamilton Beach and the Rockaways.

Miller has said he is thinking about challenging Bloomberg for the top slot in City Hall and is listed with the Campaign Finance Board as a potential candidate for 2005.

Education, parks and libraries came up early and often in the speech.

“Keep the cuts out of the classroom,” said Miller. He criticized the mayor's plan to decrease the hours of operation for libraries.

Many of these cuts date back to the fiscal year 2002 budget, which was designed to stanch the huge deficits that followed the Sept. 11 fallout. That year $300 million was cut out of the educational budget. There was also a 5 percent cut to the libraries' $390 million operating budget.

The cuts were part of the mayor's $46.9 billion budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget featured a $400 property tax rebate for borough homeowners, which would cost the city a total of about $250 million.

Bloomberg and the City Council are currently wrangling over the city budget that must be enacted by the end of June.

The City Council has put together a two-page list of cuts it says are hidden in the mayor's budget.

Miller focused on Bloomberg's tax rebate proposal. He faulted the plan for being fleeting. “We should have real tax cuts,” said Miller. He also advocated tax cuts for seniors, saying that seniors should not have to choose between paying for medicine or paying for their mortgage.

Zoning was touched upon briefly in Miller's speech and revisted during the question-and-answer portion.

“We ought to have zoning better reflect what the community is about,” he said.

Briarwood has an R6 designation which means developers can build small apartment buildings despite the fact that most of the houses fit the R1 or R2 category meaning traditional residential housing. This has created a problem with developers knocking down homes and building apartment buildings. Miller said he would work to fix the problem. “We're not going to allow speculation and conversion,” said Miller.

Miller then turned to the Department of Buildings.

“The Department of Building is a mess,” he said. “It's probably the worst agency you can think of. It's not doing a good job of protecting the safety of New Yorkers.”

Miller has proposed a plan in which builders would pay higher fees for permits yet get better service from the Department of Buildings.

Sanitation was the next subject brought up in questioning. “We proven that collecting recycling actually saves the city money.” This is possible by redoing the contract to use recycling companies instead of sanitation companies.

Miller said Bloomberg's plan to reduce waste basket pickups in four of the five boroughs favored Manhattan, the only one not to see a reduction. “I don't understand it,” said Miller.

Reach Reporter Tommy Hallissey by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.