From The Mayor’s Desk...

From The Mayor’s Desk...

City’s Best Days

Are Still Ahead

The newspapers are full of doom and gloom these days. But let’s get one thing straight: New York remains the greatest city in world. It’s no secret

City government faces tough budget times. But that’s not keeping us from going ahead with projects that improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers. I know our best days are still ahead of us. Let me tell you a few reasons why:

Last Monday, I joined youngsters on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to ce-lebrate the opening of renovated ball fields, playgrounds, and basketball and volleyball courts at East River Park. Completing that job is another major link in opening up our city’s waterfront to greater public use and enjoyment. By next summer there’ll be an interim walk-way/bikeway running all along Man-hattan’s waterfront - including through East River Park - for nearly 32 miles, creating wonderful recreational opportunities for all New Yorkers.

Small business remains the backbone of New York’s economy. More than half of all New Yorkers in the pri-vate sector have jobs with companies that employ fewer than 100 workers. And writing more small business success stories is crucial to our economic future. That’s why I went to the Bronx last week to announce that we are es-tablishing satellite business assistance centers in each of the boroughs. These centers will offer small business owners one-stop access to information about everything from tax incentive programs to bidding for city contracts. Bottom line: We’re working to increase jobs and opportunity in all five boroughs.

We’re also getting our economy back on track by making New York a more attractive place for major corporate em-ployers. The recovery of Lower Man-hattan took a big step with the unveiling of plans for a new 52-story office building to go up on the site of Seven World Trade Center. Construction of this building has already begun. When it opens in 2005, it will provide businesses with nearly 1.7 million square feet of new state-of-the-art commercial office space. And by restoring auto and pedestrian traffic on Greenwich Street, the design for the new building will foster nearby stores and restaurants. That will help make downtown Manhattan a lively and attractive hub of business activity.

And finally, last week’s Compstat report from the NYPD was full of more goods news. Crime in New York continues to fall to historic lows. Crime is 5.5% lower than it was a year ago and down nearly 65% from 9 years ago. Murder is down an astonishing 12% from last year.

And we’re going to keep building on that progress to protect the lives - and the quality of life - for all New Yorkers.