By James DeWeese
Speaking at Hostos Community College in the Bronx – the stomping grounds of his potentially strongest opponent, Democrat Fernando Ferrer – Bloomberg recalled the devestation wrought by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The mayor praised the city for its revival and then offered a litany of statistics he said reflected the success of his administration's at-times controversial public safety and educational policies. As he looked to the future, touting his vision of New York as a “City of Opportunity,” Bloomberg mentioned several initiatives near and dear to Queens residents, including the borough's bid to halt overdevelopment in residential neighborhoods, development projects in Queens Plaza and Flushing and maintaining stepped-up police enforcement in troubled areas.Queens politicians offered a lukewarm assessment of the mayor's remarks.During his hourlong address, Bloomberg touted the city's earned income tax credit, which is new for low-income residents this year. And he promised the return of the $400 property tax rebate that proved popular among many Queens homeowners.Bloomberg offered a host of statistics to back up his claim that New Yorkers were better off than they were when he took office. In 2004, the city's annual murder rate dropped to its lowest level since 1963. Fire deaths hit their lowest level in 85 years. And pedestrian and auto fatalities were lower in 2004 than in any year since the city started keeping records in 1910, he said.The mayor also said his adminstration's high-stakes testing program for city third graders – a plan that drew fire from many parents and Democratic officials – had been successful.”It was the right thing to do, and the results proved it,” he said. “The rate of third-grade students attending our Summer Success Academy who earned admission to the fourth grade more than doubled what we'd seen in years past.”In Queens, nearly 10 percent of third-graders failed one or both of the math and English tests in June.Bloomberg acknowledged more work would need to be done to translate his vision of “Building a City of Opportunity” into a full-fledged reality. And many of the projects he outlined clearly require work continuing well beyond the end of his term.”Come up north to Queens Plaza, where a multimillion-dollar reconstruction will complement (Borough President) Helen Marshall's efforts to develop the city's newest central business district,” said Bloomberg, who also called the proposed rail link between Kennedy Airport and Lower Manhattan the most important project in the post-Sept. 11 financial district's redevelopment. “And in Flushing, the first phase of a joint community-city master plan will be to turn five acres of city-owned land into a high-quality, mixed use retail and entertainment center,” he said. The city plans to unveil designs for the development of Municipal Lot 1 in downtown Flushing within the coming months.Bloomberg also promised to fight overdevelopment, a perennial issue in many Queens neighborhoods.”Building on what we learned from the Staten Island Overdevelopment Task Force, we're working with homeowners and homebuilders to prevent inappropriate development,” Bloomberg said.Public safety, which he called essential to attracting jobs and generating growth, also figured heavily in his address.In 2004, police officers in Impact Zones, such as the jointly patrolled Roosevelt Avenue corridor in Corona, made 33,000 arrests, reducing crime in those areas by 26 percent, Bloomberg said. He pledged to continue the successful program over the year by partnering rookie cops with more experienced officers.Bloomberg also told Queens homeowners they can count on another $400 property tax rebate as “as our thank you for being there when the city needed you.””Your sacrifice helped preserve the great quality of life that defines our city of opportunity,” he said. “This is something to be proud of.”Queens councilmen Peter Vallone (D-Astoria) and John Liu (D-Flushing) gave mixed marks to the mayor's speech.While Vallone complimented Bloomberg for cutting crime, Liu was critical of Bloomberg for not addressing the bus strike and transit problems that are currently plaguing Queens neighborhoods.”Mass transit is the key to economic development in our 'City of Opportunity,'” Liu, chairman of the Council TransportationCommittee, said. “The mayor needs to complete the long-delayed MTA takeover of the city's franchise bus services and work to immediately end the bus strike in Queens.”For the full text of Bloomberg's speech, visit www.nyc.gov.Reach reporter James DeWeese by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
