The text of Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Farewell Address
Giuliani's major addresses during his mayoralty
12/31
Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday chose Nicholas Scoppetta,
who won praise for overhauling New York City's child welfare system
the last six years, to be the city's next fire commissioner and
rebuild a department that lost 343 firefighters in the attack on the
World Trade Center. The appointment of Mr. Scoppetta, 69, came as
something of a surprise because a few months ago he announced his
intention to leave government when Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani left office.
(New York Times)
Rudolph W. Giuliani leaves office tonight assured of one pedestal in the pantheon
of New York mayors: no other modern mayor, not even Fiorello H. La Guardia,
departed at the crest of his popularity. But precedent suggests that history
- not the euphoria of the moment - will determine whether Mr. Giuliani, after
two terms, edges aside La Guardia, who served three, as New York City's greatest
mayor. (
New York Times)
Rudolph Giuliani hands to Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg a city transformed.
During his eight-year tenure, when the national economy soared,
the city became safer, cleaner, better run. He also restored the sense
that a city that had once seemed out of control was, in fact, manageable.
It is an accomplishment that may benefit or burden his successor.
Mr. Giuliani also turned city politics upside down, blurring the traditional distinctions
between parties and changing the way that voters perceive candidates.
In a predominantly Democratic city, he won two consecutive races as a Republican,
and is being succeeded by a Republican. He was the consummate anti-politician
politician; he consciously took extreme positions on seemingly intractable issues
so that the resulting compromise would further his agenda.
All this is not to say that Mr. Giuliani solved every problem presented to him,
or that he did not create a few along the way. The housing shortage, not just for the poor but for the middle class, remains a threat to the city's viability. A weakening economy and the terrorist attack have left the city budget with a projected $4 billion deficit beginning in July. The quality of education being provided to 1.1 million children in the public school system did not improve much during his tenure.
And even the most careful municipal manager could not have prepared for the awful
wound inflicted on the western side of Lower Manhattan.
The Bloomberg administration will have to grapple with the cost of the cleanup
and development while tax revenues and employment are plummeting.
( New York Times)
12/30
Preview of Inaugural address (Daily News)
(New York Post)
(New York Times)
25 personal facts about Michael Bloomberg (Did you know he dated Diana Ross?)
(Daily News)
After eight years of management-by-confrontation under Giuliani,
who fought with everyone from museum directors to ferret lovers
to his own wife, New Yorkers should expect a less heated,
more collaborative style of management at City Hall
when Bloomberg takes office Tuesday.
Goodbye, Generalissimo Giuliani. Hello, Manager Mike.
(Newsday)
WCBS-TV/Channel 2 reporter Michael O'Looney will become
the next deputy police commissioner for public information.
(Daily News)
12/29
Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg announced another bevy of appointments yesterday,
including Daniel L. Doctoroff, who headed the effort to bring the 2012 Olympics
to New York, as deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding.
Mr. Bloomberg also named Verna Eggleston, a campaign consultant
whose appearance in a Bloomberg advertisement caused a spat
in the mayoral race, as commissioner of the Human Resources Administration.
And he appointed Gretchen Dykstra, who was president of the Times
Square Business Improvement District, commissioner of the Department
of Consumer Affairs.
Bill Cunningham, a campaign strategist known for a feisty relationship with reporters,
was named director of communications.
Edwin Mndez-Santiago,
who heads the Spanish Speaking Elderly Council (Raices),
a Brooklyn-based social services agency, was named commissioner
of the Department for the Aging,
and Gino P. Menchini,
an account manager at Cisco Systems, was named commissioner
of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.
(New York Times)
"Before Sept. 11, New York told a remarkably compelling Olympic story,"
Doctoroff said. "Post-Sept. 11 - certainly, we are not looking for any sympathy
- but I think you've seen those [Olympic] values: the courage, compassion,
the resiliency." (Daily News)
Multibillionaire mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, who has said little
about his plans for fighting poverty in New York, named as city welfare
commissioner Friday the former head of a group that assists gay and transgender youth.
The incoming commissioner of welfare, Verna Eggleston,
was director of the Hetrick-Martin Institute until this summer.Her name surfaced in a political controversy during the mayor's race
when she praised Bloomberg in one of his campaign television ads and
in a glossy campaign mailing. In both promotions, Eggleston was described
only as a "child-welfare expert," when, in fact, she was a paid
consultant for Bloomberg's campaign. According to filings, Eggleston got a
check for $10,000 in mid-September, less than a month
before the TV ad started airing. Democrats accused Bloomberg
of trying to pass off Eggleston as an average voter.
The Bloomberg campaign responded by confirming Eggleston's
involvement and describing her as a "respected children's health advocate"
who "quit her job to join his campaign."
Flanked by Bloomberg, Eggleston, also a child-welfare director under
former Mayor David Dinkins, said Friday that she was not ready to discuss
her goals for the welfare department, the Human Resources Administration.
The department's child-welfare bureau has been spun off as an independent
agency, and HRA focuses on outgoing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's goal to
"end welfare," as he put it in a 1998 speech.
(Newsday)
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg still has many appointments to make, but so far, 10 Giuliani appointees are being retained or promoted.With 27 top jobs filled, here's how Team Bloomberg is shaping up:
Political affiliation: 19 Democrats, 6 Republicans, 2 Unaffiliated
Gender: 20 men, 7 women
Race: 20 white, 4 Latino, 3 black
(Newsday graphic)
Giuliani's biggest regret, the mayor said yesterday,
was not being able to abolish the Board of Education.
(Daily News)
12/28
Praising his ancestors, his aides and, above all, his own two-term tenure,
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani used his farewell address yesterday to laud
New Yorkers for their strength and courage but also to snipe
at those who spoke against him during the past eight years.
(Newsday)
Mayor Giuliani made his most impassioned appeal yet yesterday
for a "soaring ... beautiful" monument at Ground Zero that
would rival the American war memorials at Normandy and Gettysburg.
Speaking at St. Paul's Chapel, a block from where the World Trade Center
once stood, the mayor called the site "holy" and "hallowed" and declared,
"we shouldn't think about this site right behind us as a site for
economic development."
(
Daily News)
The speech, by turns playful, technical, religious and patriotic,
was also notable for the ground it did not cover, which included
subjects like children's services, parks and recreation,
education and public health, even though they were outlined
in a handout about what the administration considers its successes,
which was given to reporters.
(New York Times)
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's power to ensure that office buildings
and commerce will not mar the ground at the World Trade Center site may
be more symbolic than real. After all, the 16-acre parcel is owned by
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bistate agency Mr. Giuliani
feuded with during most of his eight years in office.
The developer Larry Silverstein controls development
on the site under a $3.2 billion lease he signed in July.
Gov. George E. Pataki is in charge of the federal aid coming
to New York for cleaning up and rebuilding at the site in Lower Manhattan.
The Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation, which was created by Mr.
Pataki and Mr. Giuliani last month, is coordinating the planning for reviving
Lower Manhattan and creating a memorial. After Monday, Mayor Giuliani will
be Mr. Giuliani, citizen. Nearly everyone from the governor to Mr. Silverstein
has said some part of the site should be used for a major memorial.
The unspoken concern among politicians and developers, though, is that
if it is not done right, they will have to contend with the families
of the victims of the attack, who may very well demand that all
the land be protected, almost like sacred ground. And no one wants to
get into what would almost certainly be a damaging public feud with the families.
Although Mr. Giuliani will no longer hold public office,
the politicians and developers are now concerned that he could
become a lightning rod for the now unorganized and often unexpressed
views of the families.
(New York Times)
Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg appointed five city commissioners yesterday,
reappointing one of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's commissioners,
promoting two city deputies and an assistant,
and tapping a doctor serving with the World Health Organization
as the city's next health commissioner. With the appointments,
Mr. Bloomberg showed himself to be unconcerned with criticism
from some of his fellow Republicans that he was not naming enough
Republicans to his administration: all five are Democrats.
William Bell, Administration for Children's Services
Neil Hernandez, Department for Juvenile Justice
Martha K. Hirst, Department of Citywide Administrative Services
Jerilyn Perine, Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, Department of Health.
(
New York Times)
Mayor Giuliani yesterday used one of his final vetoes in office
to kill a bill that would have allowed an old rival and sometime
critic to pay off a campaign debt. The bill would have allowed politicians
with campaign debts to hit up loyal supporters for more cash after four years
- even after they had contributed the maximum allowed by law.
The bill was referred to in City Hall circles as the "Dinkins bill"
because it would have allowed the ex-mayor to clear up a $200,000
debt from his failed re-election bid in 1993 - against Giuliani.
(
New York Post)
Incoming Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz announced
the first four members of his administration yesterday, including
a veteran Borough Hall hand as his chief of staff. Jamaican-born
Yvonne Graham will be the new deputy borough president when
Markowitz assumes office Jan. 1, taking over for long-time
Borough President Howard Golden. Joining her in the new administration
are Seth Cummings, who will be general counsel, and Glenn von Nostitz,
who will be director of communications.Michael Burke, who has worked
in Borough Hall since 1997, will become Markowitz's chief of staff.
(
Daily News)
A city ethics-board ruling about how Mayor-elect Mike Bloomberg must
avoid conflicts with his media empire likely won't be made before he's
sworn into office Tuesday, sources said. Bloomberg approached the Conflicts
of Interest Board about a host of sticky issues involving his company.
Bloomberg's sprawling empire could present one of the biggest challenges
that ethics officials have ever had to sort out.
(
New York Post)
12/27
Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg warned yesterday that quality-of-life crimes
appeared to be on the rise in New York City, and announced that one of the first
tasks of his administration would be "a major effort" to roll back such offenses
as prostitution and panhandling.
(New York Times
)
Mayor-elect Mike Bloomberg yesterday said he'd like to open the steps of City Hall
to the public - but only if the police commissioner assures him it's safe.
(
New York Post)
The Rev. Al Sharpton - who was unwelcome at City Hall under Mayor Giuliani
- has been invited to the inauguration of Mayor-elect Bloomberg and other city
officials, courtesy of Comptroller Bill Thompson.
(
New York Post)
Michael R. Bloomberg's office said this month that the mayor-elect's transition
team had begun consulting with experts to give Gracie Mansion a face-lift.
The mayor-elect has said he will use it to entertain visiting dignitaries
and for public functions, but not to live in. Decorator Jamie Drake has
designed three residences for Bloomberg, and is likely to get the job for
Gracie Mansion. He is a New York City decorator who plays his role to the hilt,
flaunting a taste for exuberant color and showiness in his fake fur chubby,
his orange-lined suits and his velvet paisley newsboy cap. As seen on the
cover of the November issue of Elle Decor, Mr. Drake unleashed his most
riotous impulses in his own home, a Manhattan loft done in throbbing pink,
Tyrian purple and chrome yellow, the last thrown into high relief by
a zebra-and-leopard-pattern rug. "I have very bold taste."
(
New York Times)
During a news conference Wednesday, the future mayor of New York misstated
where the ball drops at midnight on New Year's Eve. But Michael Bloomberg had
no uncertainty about what he'll be doing at that moment. He said he'll be
sworn in as mayor at a minute or so after midnight by outgoing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
As he does every year, Giuliani plans to release the ball and count down its descent.
This all will take place in Times Square, but Bloomberg didn't say so at first.
"Plans are now that Rudy will drop the ball at midnight, in Herald Square,
I guess it is," Bloomberg said.
(Newsday)
James Molinaro, who is being sworn in today as Staten Island borough president
in a private ceremony, said he would like to see a retirement community established
on the island, perhaps in Charleston. "So many Staten Islanders relocate to other
states because there is nothing available to them here," he said. Another major
goal is to "finally see an indoor track complex with an Olympic swimming pool,"
he said. But he knows that he will face tough financial choices when he takes
office on Tuesday. "There's no question we will be facing huge budget deficits,
and many projects will be put on the back burner," he said. "Staten Island will
still get its fair share, but it will be smaller, and the nonprofit organizations
will take major hits."
(Daily News)
Bronx Borough President-elect Adolfo Carrion has named four more people
to his transition team. (Daily News)
12/26
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg said yesterday he wasn't prepared to support a deal
before Jan. 1 to build new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees, apparently shutting
down any hope of Mayor Giuliani arranging an agreement in his final days
in office. (Daily News)
12/25
After 33 years in the New York state Senate, liberal Republican Roy Goodman will
leave office to take over as president of the United Nations Development Corp.,
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg announced Monday. "He is the perfect person,"
Bloomberg told reporters. With Goodman's departure, the jockeying for his
soon-to-be vacated seat has already begun. Elizabeth Krueger,
whom Goodman narrowly defeated in last year's election, said Monday she
intended to run in the forthcoming special election. Earlier, Goodman
endorsed Republican state Assemblyman John Ravitz, his counterpart
in the Assembly since 1990. His appointment comes as the U.N. presses ahead
with plans for a major refurbishment of its headquarters and development of new
office space. "I think (the appointment) is significant in that it symbolizes
the support the mayor and the city are giving to the United Nations at
a very sensitive time," Goodman said. "The events of 9-11 have accentuated
the importance of the United Nations and the many aspects of its present
strategic position." (Associated Press)
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg is expected to name Daniel Doctoroff
- a businessman spearheading the city's quest for the 2012 Olympic Games
- as his fifth and final deputy mayor this week, signaling his commitment
to bringing the global event to the city.
(Daily News)
Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that he would create a large,
open office in the heart of City Hall - modeled after the one that he used
to manage his private company, Bloomberg L.P. - from where and he and his
top deputies would run the city. Mr. Bloomberg said he would relegate
the mayor's formal corner office to mainly ceremonial purposes.
(
New York Times)
Despite the city's growing fiscal problems and the approaching
departure of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, city officials are laboring
furiously to complete plans for new stadiums for the Mets and the
Yankees by New Year's Eve. It is unclear whether the work will be
completed by the time Mayor Giuliani swears in his successor,
Michael R. Bloomberg, in Times Square early on Jan. 1.
But the city has been meeting with executives of the Mets and the Yankees in recent days,
and an outline of the deals was contained in a thick environmental impact statement for
a new stadium for the Mets that was completed last week.
(New York Times)
Things we'll miss about Rudy...
Strong leadership in a time of crisis
Enthusiasm for the Bronx Bombers - Yankee victories have been sweeter with the mayor as their No. 1 cheerleader
Zero tolerance on crime, from squeegee men to mob murderers.
Genuine, infectious love for the Big Apple
On the job "24/7" with a hands-on management style
Never backed down from a fight - like booting Yasser Arafat out of Lincoln Center
Knack for making news
...and things we won't
His cross-dressing, leg-revealing appearances at the annual Inner Circle charity bash
The messy divorce from Donna Hanover and all-too-public courtship of gal pal Judi Nathan
Refusal to share the credit or the limelight - just ask former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton
His compulsive need to build ballparks around the city.
Blaming the victim, as he did most outlandishly in the case of cop shooting victim Patrick Dorismond
Disdain for minority elected officials
Attempting to pull the plug on funding for museums whose art he found objectionable
His bad-hair days.
(New York Post)
12/24
For those incoming City Council members determined to shake up the way things
work next year, Peter F. Vallone, the departing speaker, has a few choice
words. "It's a lot of nonsense," he said in a recent interview, calling the
hope to change procedural rules a focus on "minutiae" from a group of people
"who haven't been here for 30 seconds yet."
(New York Times)
The messy task of settling a contract for the city's 80,000 public school
teachers will fall to Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, after talks between the
city and the teachers union ended last week with no deal in sight. The next round
of negotiations in the bitter, 16-month quest to iron out differences between
City Hall and the teachers union is scheduled for Jan. 9, eight days after Mayor
Giuliani leaves office. (Daily News)
12/23
Latino New Yorkers voted Republican in significant numbers for the first time
in this year's mayoral election, becoming a significant factor in Michael R.
Bloomberg's victory. Now they want results. From average voters to political,
business and grass-roots leaders, many said they expected the new
administration to appoint Latinos to high-ranking positions and increase
their numbers in city government to a share more reflective of their
population in the city. Currently, Latinos make up about 27 percent of the
population, and about 15 percent of the city government's employees.
(New
York Times)
As he settles on a new team to lead the Police Department, the incoming
commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, is cobbling together a cadre of supervisors
that includes trusted aides from his former tenure as commissioner and
current chiefs who have performed well in executive roles. (New York Times)
Bloomberg has been trying to find a space in City Hall where he can create a
"bullpen" for his "Kitchen Cabinet" - a single room where all the deputies
and top aides would work, forgoing private offices. (New York Post)
Giuliani and Bloomberg - though not immune to launching the occasional
backhand shot - appear to be headed into inauguration not so much as rivals
but as allies, with views that are more alike than different. Consider that
when Bloomberg is sworn in as mayor on New Year's Eve, it will be Giuliani
who leads him in the oath - an apparent mayoral first, at least in modern
times. But there are differences. Giuliani is a famous micromanager, while
Bloomberg is said to be more of a delegator. Giuliani seems to like to make
enemies; Bloomberg is courting everybody. (Daily News)
Looking to his future, Fernando Ferrer, stepping down after almost 15 years
as borough president of the Bronx, said "it appears" he will soon be heading
up a new urban policy institute. Though he flatly ruled out a rumored run for
Congress ("I have no interest in it"), Ferrer said he did not intend "to
close the door" on elective office forever. He also plans "to finally make
some money, trying my hand on Wall Street and getting involved in some
economic development projects." (Daily News)
After 16 years as Queens borough president, instead of going out with
confetti and champagne, the term-limited Claire Shulman is leaving amid tears
and sorrow.
She has had to deal with the World Trade Center disaster, the Flight 587
crash in Rockaway and the loss of her 45-year-old son, Kim, an assistant
director in Hollywood, who died of a brain aneurysm in June. (Daily News)
12/22
After 33 years in office, State Senator Roy M. Goodman has agreed to step
down and take a position in the Bloomberg administration, as the president of
the United Nations Development Corporation, clearing the way for what should
be a hotly contested race to secure his seat and represent the Upper East
Side. (New York Times)
At noon on Jan. 1, a procession of prominent leaders - including a former
United States president, two United States senators and two former New York
mayors - will assemble on the steps of City Hall to mark the inauguration of
Michael R. Bloomberg as the city's 108th mayor. But one particularly
prominent New Yorker will not be there: Mark Green, the Democrat who lost to
Mr. Bloomberg last November. Aides to Mr. Green said he had decided to spend
this New Year in Florida, visiting his in-laws. "He's going to be away with
his family," said a spokesman, Stephen Sigmund. (New York Times)
Many black elected officials - all of them Democrats - are finding themselves
consulted and courted by the Republican mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, a
refreshing change from their relationship with Rudy Giuliani. (New York
Times)
Mayor Giuliani said yesterday he's handing off the city to Mike Bloomberg in
much better financial shape than he got it - despite a budget gap that could
exceed $4 billion in 2003. (New York Post)
12/21
Bloomberg Continues to Spend His Billions. Now that he has been elected,
Michael Bloomberg has not stopped spending his own money to advance his
cause. Last week in his Upper East Side townhouse, he held a cocktail
reception for incoming City Council members and a sit-down dinner for
borough presidents. A few weeks ago, he took an official trip to the Dominican
Republic and Puerto Rico, taking along newly elected officials on his
private plane and paying for their stay at an expensive hotel. His private
plane also took elected officials and others to Israel to meet with government
officials there. And he plans to foot the bill for his inaugural reception
at the renovated Tweed Courthouse in Lower Manhattan on New Year's Day.
The juxtaposition of Bloomberg's wealth and public service has forced
the city to examine ethical areas that have not been explored since Nelson
Rockefeller was governor. (New
York Times)
Philanthropy, Lavish Parties Key to Bloomberg's Rise. Michael Bloomberg's
move from private to public citizen had three steps. First, he endeared
himself to the city's civic elite with huge donations to charity; then
he wooed the media with lavish parties; and finally, he used his immense
wealth to construct a political network that enabled him to rise from
relative obscurity to mayor.
The giving was key as is evidenced by his naming Patti
Harris, once in charge of charitable giving for
Bloomberg, as deputy mayor for operations. In 1999, he
gave nearly $47 million; in 2000, he gave more than
$100 million; and his charitable inclinations
overlapped with his political ambitions.
When the time came, Bloomberg won important
endorsements from groups he had previously supported.
The Citizens Union, one of the city's oldest civic
groups, endorsed him over Democrat Mark Green Ń even
though the group is a strong supporter of the city's
voluntary campaign-finance program, and Bloomberg was
a self-financed candidate who scornfully dismissed it
as an "incumbent-protection program." The group
received annual donations from Mr. Bloomberg from 1994
to 1999.
When Bloomberg decided to run, his money let him built a political team with
astonishing speed. And he made generous donations to political organizations
that supported him, including, for example, $30,000 to the Independence
Party. Now that he is mayor-elect some things have not changed. Recently,
he assembled a group, including incoming borough presidents and city council
members, at his townhouse to discuss current affairs. The evening featured
$300 bottles of Chteau Haut-Brion Bordeaux, exotic orchids and caviar
hors d'oeuvres. (New
York Observer)
Bloomberg to Take the Oath --Twice. Mayor-elect Bloomberg expects to
become Mayor Bloomberg shortly before or after midnight in Times Square
at a ceremony to be presided over by outgoing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Bloomberg will be sworn in again at noon by New York State Chief Judge
Judith Kaye during an inaugural ceremony on the steps of City Hall. A
low-key reception will follow at the Tweed Courthouse. (Daily
News)
Goodman Expected to Take City Post. Republican Roy Goodman, who has represented
the East Side of Manhattan in the State Senate for 33 years, is expected
to leave the legislature and accept Mayor-elect Bloomberg's offer to head
the United Nations Development Corp., a city-state entity that provides
facilities to the UN community. Assemblyman John Ravitz, an East Side
Republican, has decided to seek Goodman's seat, the sources said. Democrat
Liz Krueger, who lost to Goodman last year by about 200 votes after a
lengthy recount, also is expected to run. City Finance Commissioner Andrew
Eristoff is likely to replace Goodman as Manhattan Republican chairman,
sources said. (Daily
News)
GOP Councilmembers Hope to See Increased Clout. There are only four Republicans
in the new City Council, down from six in the outgoing council, but they
hope to see their power increase as a result of the race for Council speaker.
All 51 members of the Council, including the GOP members, will chose a
successor to Peter Vallone on January 9. The Republicans say they will
vote as a bloc, which could make them the kingmakers in a close vote.
The four also say they will select James Oddo of Staten Island, one of
only 13 returning Council members, as minority leader. (Daily
News)
12/20
Michael Bloomberg announced nine top-level
appointments yesterday, naming four Republicans and
three holdovers from the Giuliani administration.
Vincent La Padula, a former Giuliani staffer, will be
senior adviser, and Peter Madonia, a former member of
the Koch administration, will be chief of staff.
Three appointees will be keeping the jobs they now
have: Iris Weinshall, transportation commissioner;
William Fraser, correction commissioner, and Tino
Hernandez, chairman of the New York City Housing
Authority. John Doherty, who served as sanitation
commissioner from 1994 to 1998, will return to that
post. Also appointed were Martin Horn, Probation
Department commissioner, Jonathan Greenspun,
commissioner of the mayor's Community Assistance,
Brian Andersson, an assistant commissioner of the
Records and Information Services Department who will
now be commissioner
The appointments could deflect some criticism by
Republicans that Bloomberg has named too many
Democrats to his administration. But Republican State
Senator Guy Velella of the Bronx, still blasted the
mayor-elect for excluding Republicans from the
selection process. (Daily News)
12/19
Bloomberg announces at least two more appointments today (Daily News)
The term-limits law approved by voters in 1993 finally kicks in Dec. 31, and
for 40 or so elected officials, power and relevance already are slipping
away.It's the end of the line for an old guard that has been at the core of
the city's civic leadership for a quarter-century. The Guy Molinaris and
Howard Goldens. The Archie Spigners and Peter Vallones. The Mary Pinketts
and Priscilla Wootens. (Daily News)
12/18
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg has been quietly lobbying Republican lawmakers
and the White House to sign off on financial aid packages to help New York
recover from the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, while Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
has said local lawmakers should stop trying to get more money immediately
from Washington. (New York Times)
Queen's Councilman John Sabini sees his vocation end at age 45, thanks to
term limits. (New York Times)
Transit Bureau Chief Michael Ansbro, who steered the subway system through
another period of crime reduction this year, is retiring. (Daily News)
12/17
Richard Riordan is a millionaire who probably spent
tens of millions of dollar of his own money to become
mayor of Los Angeles. He made it respectable to give
up a millionaire's life for city hall and apparently
liked it so much that he is now running for governor
of California. Given all that, it is not surprising
that Michael Bloomberg is turning to him for advice.
(New York Times)
The City Council speaker is not the only member who
gets perks. Various committee and leadership positions
also provide members with extra money and power. Of
the 51 current councilmembers, 44 receive stipends.
The committee chairmanships in the new council are
being used as bargaining chips by the candidates
competing for City Council speaker.
(Daily News)
In September, Alan Jennings of Queens scored an upset
victory over the organization candidate to become a
new city councilmember. Now he and other members of
the Fresh Democracy Council are looking for a speaker
candidate who will support their reform ideas.
(Daily News)
12/15
More names are being bandied about for possible
positions in the Bloomberg administration. Dan
Doctoroff, head of the city's effort to attract the
2012 Olympics, and Economic Development Corp.
President Michael Carey are reportedly both being
considered for a deputy mayor slot, as is Richard
Kahan, former head of the state's Urban Development
Corp. For housing commissioner, Bloomberg is
reportedly considering Paul Roldan, a Staten Island
Republican, and Antonio Pagan, a former Democratic
city councilman who became a Giuliani aide. The name
of Amanda Burden, who Public Advocate Mark Green named
to the city Planning Commission, has been circulated
as a possibility for the panel's next chair.
(Newsday)
Mayor Giuliani said he thinks borough presidents
should serve on the city Board of Education. Three
borough presidents, Virginia Fields of Manhattan and
newly elected Adolfo Carrion of the Bronx and Helen
Marshall of Queens, have said they would like to name
themselves to the board when their boroughās seat next
becomes vacant. Giulianiās own legal department has
said such appointments would constitute a conflict of
interest.
(Daily News)
12/14
The Giuliani administration is trying to block a plan by three borough
presidents, one currently in office and two who were elected this year, to
appoint themselves to the Board of Education, warning that it would be
"inappropriate" and pose serious conflicts of interest. (New York Times)
Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday that Republican criticism of Mayor-elect
Michael Bloomberg's first cabinet appointments - all five appointees are
Democrats - was unfair. "Although the majority of people who served in my
administration were Democrats, I think by and large the ideology of my
administration was Republican."
Bloomberg appeared at a fundraiser for Governor George Pataki and said he
would be working "night and day" to get him reelected. (Daily News)
Dan Doctoroff, president of NYC 2012, the committee Mayor Giuliani set up to
explore bringing the Olympics Summer Games to New York, is a front-runner to
become deputy mayor for economic development, the fifth deputy mayor in
Michael Bloomberg's cabinet. Other names that have been floated for the job
include Alliance for Downtown Manhattan head Carl Weisbrod and one-time
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Kahan. (New York Post)
12/13
In his first meeting with reporters since he lost the mayoral election last
month, Public Advocate Mark Green praised the man who beat him, Michael
Bloomberg, for making good appointments. Green refused to blame a single
factor for his defeat, including Bloomberg1s massive spending, and said "We
hit a 'perfect storm,1 a confluence of unprecedented, unexpected events that
eventually we couldn't escape." Green said he has "no interest and no plans"
to run again, but hopes to do public commentary, teach, advise clients and
run a civic or policy organization.
(Daily News)
Some Republicans are unhappy that Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg has named so
few members of their party to his administration. Only Edward Skyler, his
press secretary, is a registered Republican, and he became one this summer.
Of course, Bloomberg himself is a lifelong Democrat who switched parties to
run for mayor.
(New York Times)
Staten Island Borough President-elect James Molinaro has named Daniel
Donovan Jr. deputy borough president. Molinaro is the current deputy.
Donovan has served as chief of staff to Staten Island Borough President Guy
Molinari since 1996.
(Daily News)
12/12
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg's new A-team now includes four deputy mayors -
all Democrats - picked by the Republican who warned that his Democratic foe
would "tear down" Rudolph Giuliani's City Hall. Bloomberg, a longtime
Democrat who switched parties to avoid a mayoral primary, selected Carol
Robles-Roman, 39, of the Bronx for the newly-configured post of deputy mayor
for legal affairs. Robles-Roman, the first Latina appointed by Bloomberg,
has held several posts over the years in the state's court system, including
as an aide to top judges. Her husband, Nelson Roman, has been a Bronx civil
court judge since 1988 - an elected job in the power domain of the county's
Democratic organization. Sources said Bronx Borough President Fernando
Ferrer, who lost the Democratic primary, was consulted. In addition, Michael
Cardozo, 60, currently of Scarsdale, will replace Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's
appointee Michael Hess as corporation counsel, the mayor's chief legal
adviser, Bloomberg announced. Cardozo too is a Democrat. (Newsday)
Mayor Giuliani will begin life after City Hall by starting his own
consulting firm, the Daily News has learned. When he leaves office next
month, Mayor Giuliani is expected to call the shots at new consulting firm
that will carry his name. The firm, which will specialize in fixing failing
companies, will be staffed with as many as 15 people from the Giuliani
administration, including Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen and press
secretary Sunny Mindel, sources told The News. The company is likely to be
affiliated with accounting giant Ernst and Young, which may provide some
financial backing, but it will remain independent, with Giuliani calling the
shots. (Daily News)
12/11
The chairman of Mark Green's unsuccessful mayoral campaign testified
yesterday that the city's respected campaign finance program "failed
completely" to level the playing field between Mr. Green and Michael
R. Bloomberg, who was elected mayor after spending $69 million on
the race. John Siegal warned that unless the city fixed the financing
system, no candidate would want to participate in the future. "New
York City does not now have campaign finance reform at the mayoral
level," he told the board, which is holding the hearings to evaluate
the system. "If the mayor-elect runs for a second term, no challenger
who wants to run a credible campaign can possibly participate in
the campaign finance system." The chairman of the Campaign Finance
Board, the Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, said the election season was so
atypical - interrupted as it was by the attack on the World Trade
Center, the anthrax outbreak, the beginning of a war, not to mention
a host of unusual local factors - that it might be unwise to change
the city's policies based on this year's experience. (New
York Times) (Daily
News)
The NYPD's popular No. 2 cop has accepted a job as director of
security for one of Wall Street's biggest financial institutions.
First Deputy Commissioner Joseph Dunne - widely respected as a top
crimefighter who also enjoyed support in the communities he served
- will join UBS Warburg in January, when incoming Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelly takes over. (New
York Post)
12/10
Whether working as a kindergarten teacher or president of the Urban
League, Dennis Walcott has always focused on children, education
and health issues. Now, as the newly named deputy mayor for policy,
Walcott is hoping he'll get a chance to bring those issues to the
forefront. The advocate's goal is to become a bridge-builder of
sorts between the incoming Bloomberg administration and the education
and health communities. "I like challenges," said Walcott, who marked
his 50th birthday this year by going skydiving for the first time.
Walcott, a one-time Board of Education member, served as president
of the Urban League for 12 years.(Daily
News)
The head of the city's Campaign Finance Board says Mark Green lost
to billionaire Michael Bloomberg not because he was outspent by
a whopping $53 million - but because he campaigned "on the wrong
message." The rare foray into political analysis by the Rev. Joseph
O'Hare, who made his surprisingly critical remarks in an interview
with The Post, drew a stinging rebuke from the Green Team, who charged
he was way off base. O'Hare said Green had "sufficient money to
get his message out" in the mayor's race. "But he chose the wrong
message: to attack Bloomberg on charges in a sexual-discrimination
suit," added O'Hare, Fordham University's president. (New
York Post)
12/9
The confluence of a terrorist attack on New York City, a softening
economy and a change of administration at City Hall has resulted
in a flurry of interest in jobs in the Bloomberg administration
from unexpected corners, members of the transition team say.
Moved by the events of Sept. 11, people from all economic classes and
neighborhoods - many of whom have served in government before and thought
they would never return - suddenly see public service as honorable and a way
to help the city.
Raymond W. Kelly, who was recently designated the next police commissioner,
said the attack on the World Trade Center was the single event that drew him
away from a lucrative job with an investment bank, against the wishes of his
wife. His feelings have been echoed in job interviews with many others,
transition team members say." It may be the best opportunity to get good
people since the Lindsay administration," says transition team member
Deborah C. Wright, chief executive of Carver Bank. (New York Times)
How bad is the $4 billion budget gap faced by Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg?
It's worse than any other shortfall faced by a mayor since the darkest days
of the city's fiscal crisis in 1975, even when adjusted for inflation. And
while New York is a safer, more prosperous place than it was in those days,
the options that Bloomberg has to close that gap are as politically
unpalatable as ever - raising taxes, cutting spending, negotiating union
givebacks and borrowing. That was the stark bottom line at the end of a
two-day conference yesterday of city budget experts, organized by the
Citizens Budget Commission.
Commission members laid most of the blame for next year's $4 billion gap not
on Sept. 11 but on Giuliani, who plugged a $2.5 billion hole in this year's
operating budget with one-time surplus funds. Those funds have now dried up,
forcing the city to find new ways to cover the same expenses, at the same
time that it struggles with a declining economy and an estimated $1 billion
in costs related to the World Trade Center attacks. (Daily News)
When Mayor Giuliani exits City Hall in three weeks, he'll leave behind a
desk full of pet projects, such as new ballparks for the Yankees and the
Mets, Port Authority airport leases, and the Decency Commission. Mayor-elect
Bloomberg isn't saying if he'll follow Giuliani's lead on any of the
projects, but sounds lukewarm about most of them. (New York Post)
12/8
Mayor-elect Michael R. Bloomberg named three deputy mayors yesterday to his
administration, a power triumvirate formed by a longtime close aide and two
men hardly known to the mayor-elect. The appointments were perhaps the
strongest signal to date that Mr. Bloomberg is not like Mayor Rudolph W.
Giuliani, the man who helped elect him to office. His selection of Marc V.
Shaw, a veteran government official, and Dennis Walcott, longtime leader of
the New York Urban League, demonstrated Mr. Bloomberg's willingness to
assemble a broad-based team beyond his immediate circle.
He did, however, choose his confidante, Patricia E. Harris, who has managed
Bloomberg L.P.'s corporate communications department and philanthropic
operations, as deputy mayor for administration. She will oversee City Hall's
operations and supervise public events and the city's cultural institutions.
The Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Parks and
Recreation will report directly to her.
Mr. Shaw, 47, who holds the No. 2 position at the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, was named deputy mayor for operations, with the
majority of commissioners reporting directly to him. One of the key roles
for Mr. Shaw, who once served as budget director for Mayor Giuliani, will be
to help Mr. Bloomberg figure out how to plug the budget gap in the next
fiscal year, projected at roughly $4 billion.
As deputy mayor for policy, Mr. Walcott, 50, will advise Mr. Bloomberg on
all major policy decisions and initiatives, and serve as a liaison to the
Board of Education, the City University of New York and the Health and
Hospitals Corporation, as well as the city's various communities.
(New York Times)
In choosing Walcott, Bloomberg tapped a black leader known as a moderate and
pragmatic voice in his 12 years as president of the league. Walcott
occasionally came under fire for his working - if not warm - relationship
with Mayor Giuliani and former Police Commissioner Howard Safir. "I think
it's a great move on [Bloomberg's] part," said veteran Harlem Councilman
Bill Perkins, an African-American who has sometimes been critical of
Giuliani. "It's not just a black face for the sake of a black face. It has
some symbolic value and [Walcott] is also a person of substance . . . people
of this city are going to get bang for their buck," Perkins said.
(New York Post)
12/7
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg plans to announce his deputy mayors today.
(Gotham Gazette)
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg is expected to tap Marc Shaw, the former
budget director under Mayor Giuliani, as a deputy mayor, sources said
yesterday. Shaw, currently executive director of the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, also served as the City Council's director of
finance. (Daily News)
The ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria, where the Citizens Union was holding
its holiday dinner the other night, was rustling with the concerns heard all
around New York these days. The city's fiscal situation seemed as perilous
as anyone could remember. Washington was resisting pleas for help. New
York's government was in transition, and the region was on high terrorist
alert again. Everyone in the room, shoulder to shoulder with veterans of
government service, seemed apprehensive. Everyone, that is, except Michael R.
Bloomberg. "The best is yet to come!" he declared in a peppy and sunny
speech that made it sound as if happy days were already here again. Mr.
Bloomberg warned his audience against pessimism - "There is always a danger
of looking at the downside, of looking at the part of the glass that is not
full."
Mr. Bloomberg's optimism, and his refusal to blame his predecessor for what
may be bad times ahead, has become perhaps the most striking aspect of the
style of this largely unknown man who will be New York's next mayor. Mr.
Bloomberg, after warning against alarmism now, may find it difficult to
persuade New Yorkers to endure the kind of sacrifices that seem likely in
the years ahead. In particular, his approach could make it much tougher for
him to push the city's unions to accept the low- or no- raise contracts that
fiscal experts say New York will need to negotiate. (New York Times)
12/6
The battle to be City Council speaker has become very public this year, with
labor unions lobbying to get someone sympathetic to them in the post. The
unions are focusing on what is widely viewed as the second most powerful
position in city government because Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg ran a
non-union company. Last night, seven of the eight contenders for speaker
debated each other. Gifford Miller of Manhattan and Angel Rodriguez of
Brooklyn are seen as the two front-runners in the election, which will take
place next month. Only council members can vote.
(New York Times)
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg is expected to name Marc V. Shaw, executive
director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a former budget
director in the Giuliani administration, to a high post in his government,
probably deputy mayor, sources said. Others in line for top positions
include Patricia E. Harris and Kevin Sheekey, both of whom worked on the
Bloomberg campaign, and Susan Friedlander Calzone, the chief administrative
officer at Bloomberg's company.
(New York Times)
Incoming Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. has named a 12-member
transition team of civic, religious and community leaders. Ted Jefferson,
executive director of the Bronx Shepherds Restoration Corp. and president of
Black United Leadership of the Bronx, will head the group.
(Daily News)
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg may use some of his own money to renovate
Gracie Mansion and could hire his own decorator for the job, even though he
has no plans to live there himself.
(Daily News)
12/5
The Fresh Democracy Council, a group of newly elected City Council members,
is sponsoring a forum with the candidates for Speaker of the City Council.
It will be held on Wednesday, December 5th, 6-8 p.m., at the SEIU-32BJ
building, 101 Sixth Avenue at Grand Street in Manhattan. The candidates for
Speaker will discuss their vision for the City Council.
Mayor Giuliani is moving to convert the city's Twin Towers Fund into a
private charity he'll control even after leaving office, sources told The
Post yesterday. Mayoral aides have asked state Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer about speeding up the process so it can be finished before
Giuliani's term ends on Dec. 31, the sources said. Fund officials said the
plan was always to transfer the assets to a charity with Giuliani at the
helm. (NY Post)
Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has ordered a major shakeup of NYPD brass,
reassigning 15 top commanders amid the city's recent crime wave. The
transfers, which take effect at midnight tomorrow, mostly involve patrol
commanders in Brooklyn and Queens. There will be at least one in The Bronx.
The changes also will affect some top Housing Division cops.
(NY Post)
12/4
Sixty-eight million, nine hundred sixty-eight thousand, one hundred
eighty-five dollars. That's how much Michael R. Bloomberg spent
from his personal fortune on the election that made him the mayor
of New York City, according to documents his campaign filed yesterday
with the city's Board of Elections. It breaks all records for spending
in municipal elections by tens of millions of dollars. It is just
$2 million less than Ross Perot spent on his 1992 presidential campaign,
and it is more than the $48.6 million Steve Forbes spent on his
2000 presidential campaign, and the $63 million Jon S. Corzine spent
on his record-breaking campaign for one of New Jersey's United States
Senate seats in 2000. And it means that Mr. Bloomberg, a Republican,
wound up spending $92.60 for each of the 744,757 votes he won in
the Nov. 6 election against Mark Green, a Democrat. (Mr. Perot,
by contrast, spent about $3.59 per vote in the 1992 presidential
race.) "You know how they talk about how being mayor of New York
is the second toughest job in the country?" asked Larry Noble, the
executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit
group that studies money and politics. "It's now the second most
expensive job as well."(New
York Times) (Daily
News)
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg, who promised that his administration
would reflect the city's diversity, has at least two African-American
candidates under consideration for fire commissioner, according
to sources. Battalion Chief Philip Parr and David Clinton of the
department's legal affairs office - both of whom are black - are
on the list. Parr has completed the first round of interviews. Several
other names also have surfaced as possible contenders, including
Deputy Commissioner Lynn Tierney; Dennis Smith, a former firefighter
and best-selling author, and Jerry Hauer, former director of the
city's Office of Emergency Management. If selected, Tierney would
be the first female fire commissioner. (Daily
News)
In the middle of budget talks, Mayor-elect Bloomberg jetted to
his new multimillion-dollar home in Bermuda over the weekend, where
his island neighbors include billionaires Ross Perot and Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (New
York Post)
12/3
Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg spent nearly $70 million of his own
money to win City Hall, making his candidacy the most expensive
in American history except for presidential campaigns. Bloomberg's
total includes $68,968,185 in official campaign spending, plus $887,078
spent on polling and other expenses before he launched a campaign
committee last spring, according to a Newsday analysis of his spending.
That adds up to $69,855,263. Bloomberg, a Republican self-made billionaire,
shelled out $28 million in the final weeks of the campaign, according
to records filed yesterday with the city Board of Elections. That
alone is twice the $14 million that Mark Green, Bloomberg's final
opponent, spent during the entire year during a Democratic primary,
a Democratic runoff and the general election (Newsday)
Among a cluster of conflicts facing Michael Bloomberg as mayor
is his company's highly visible stake in the city's franchising
of cable television. Cable TV is one of the few areas in the past
decade in which billionaire Bloomberg has had a hands-on role, lobbying
for his company. Bloomberg aides said they do not know what he may
do to avoid breaching city ethics codes against benefiting himself
or his firm or appearing to do so. (Newsday)
"I am happy I was able to make history in Queens," says a beaming
Hiram Monserrate, still basking in the glory of his electoral victory.
A 34-year-old ex-cop of Puerto Rican descent, Monserrate won the
District 21 City Council seat vacated by Helen Marshall, who will
take over as Queens borough president. With union and the Queens
Democratic machine support, Monserrate is the first Latino to win
one of Queens' 36 state or local legislative seats, despite Hispanics
making up 25 percent of the borough's population. In his district,
which comprises Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Corona,
a whopping 68 percent of the population is Hispanic. (Daily
News)
It has been nearly four weeks since Mark Green's defeat in the
mayoral race against Michael R. Bloomberg. Friends and associates
say that he has largely come to terms with the loss but that he
remains personally deflated. He is only now beginning to mull over
his options for the future, they say.Rarely shy around the news
media, Mr. Green has declined requests to be interviewed. He spends
most of his time thanking people who supported him during the campaign,
visiting with family and friends, and finishing up business in the
public advocate's office, which he must vacate at the end of this
month when his term expires.Two items appear to be near the top
of Mr. Green's career wish list: serving as host on a serious television
talk show, along the lines of Charlie Rose, and joining others to
establish a large and serious-minded research institution, perhaps
a liberal version of the conservative Heritage Foundation, as one
friend described the idea."I don't see him going back into elective
politics," said William J. Bratton, the former police commissioner.
(New
York Times)
12/2
City Council 101: To stave off the chaos for which many experts
have been bracing - there is one oft-articulated vision of 38 new
members with no clue about how to even find the restrooms - City
Council officials and other interested parties have begun offering
a smorgasbord of assistance. Recently, the central staff of the
Council conducted daylong training sessions in which each department
discussed various aspects of operations and procedures. More in-depth
seminars are planned later this month. The School of Public Policy
at Baruch College developed a curriculum, complete with guidebook
and simulation exercises, which is being offered at a three-day
retreat this weekend. The Working Families Party has offered two
dinners with discussions, and plans to hold a budget policy retreat
and a speaker candidate forum by the middle of this month. Even
the current administration has become involved, leading a series
of field trips to ground zero for incoming Council members. (New
York Times)
The NYPD's top brass were told to turn in letters of resignation
and their resumes so incoming Police Commissioner Ray Kelly can
make changes at the top when he takes over next month.(New
York Post)
12/1
Mayor-elect Mike Bloomberg wants to put the brakes on free city
cars - one of the most coveted perks for high-level staffers. Bloomberg
plans to cut back on the city-owned fleet, including cars and drivers
for top-tier city workers, two sources said. A spokesman for the
mayor-elect refused to confirm or deny the plan. The city owns about
12,710 "light-duty" cars, including 1,350 that are mostly reserved
for deputy mayors, commissioners, chiefs of staff and other key
aides. (New
York Post)
National Democratic leaders have a message for the Rev. Al Sharpton:
Get over it.Sharpton demanded yesterday that the Democratic National
Committee punish the aides to Mark Green who reportedly had a hand
in distributing controversial flyers linking Sharpton to the candidacy
of Fernando Ferrer. But Maria Cardona, a DNC spokeswoman, said:
"No one has brought any sort of proof to the chairman on this. We'd
like to focus on moving forward and unifying the party for '02."
(Daily
News)
November Campaign Trail