Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg gave his State of the City address. He started things off with a video of his furry frenemy Staten Island Chuck (see below) and a mention of the Jets—"At no time has it been more important for us to put aside rivalries and focus on what’s truly important: winning the big game. Of course, I’m talking about the Jets winning the AFC Championship game on Sunday. Go Jets"—and got down to brass tacks. Besides touting how he's cut the city's budget numerous times, Bloomberg promised he would not raise taxes and announced that former mayor Ed Koch would tackle pension reform:
City workers deserve a safe and secure retirement, but right now, they receive retirement benefits that are far more generous than those received by most workers in the private sector - and that provide for a much earlier retirement age. It would be great if we could continue to afford such generous benefits, but we cannot. The only way to protect pensions for our City workers - including our police officers, firefighters, teachers, sanitation workers, and correction officers, is to reform the system so we can afford it, and at the same time afford the vital services that New Yorkers want and depend on. We have proposed and pushed pension reform before, and we have achieved some improvements with the United Federation of Teachers. But now we must go further - and capitalize on the reform agenda that Governor Cuomo has brought to Albany. Governor Cuomo campaigned on pension reform, and he will have our full support.
Of course, Cuomo liked that a lot.
The NY Times reports, "In a speech notable for what was not said, Mr. Bloomberg, delivering his 10th State of the City address, went out of his way to keep the theme distinctly parochial by highlighting neighborhood projects, unveiling proposals aimed at helping small businesses and pledging not to raise taxes... But the mayor did not utter a word about the snowstorm last month that unleashed widespread criticism when streets in many neighborhoods went unplowed for days. The address was devoid of big, sweeping initiatives, in part because of Mr. Bloomberg’s admonition that 'money is tight — very tight.'"
Bloomberg, whose speech's theme was "Progress at Work," also claimed the city was recovering. (Some fact-checking here.) Referring to the St. George Theatre, where he was giving the address, he said, "Just six weeks before this theatre opened in 1929, Wall Street had crashed - and the Depression lay ahead. And yet through it all, this theater survived. It survived a world war. It survived competition from new technology like television. It even survived years of mismanagement and abandonment. And because people came together, strong, united, and determined - a family, the business community, City government - now this place not only survives, it thrives. Today, tomorrow, and forever. And that, I truly believe, is the State of our City. Strong. United. Determined. And ready to meet any challenge. Today, tomorrow, and forever."
You can read the Mayor's State of the City address here and also download a fact sheet (PDF).
