This Week's Stories
GG's quick takes on recent NYC news


Week of 8 October 2001:

It's Green and Gotbaum
Mark Green won in the Democratic runoff for mayor, defeating Fernando Ferrer. Green will face Republican nominee Michael Bloomberg in November. Betsy Gotbaum won in the runoff against Norman Siegel for public advocate and, since she has no Republican opponent, has in effect won the position.

Other Results The Board of Elections has released the final "official certified vote count" for every primary race (as opposed to the board's previous "certified unofficial" results). You can find all these numbers now - and the updated lists of candidates, those who are appearing on the November ballot - on the appropriate page of Gotham Gazette's Searchlight On Campaign 2001. http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001. Also on Searchlight is our Primary Results page, which lists the names of the winners in all the races, including the nominees for Supreme Court Justices, district attorneys and civil court judges.

Still Burning There were many services, observances and other events yesterday to mark the one-month anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, where the fire that began that day is still burning. At a ceremony at the site itself, at the exact time at which the attack occurred, a fire department chaplain said: "Don't look at the devastation there, but the dedication here; don't look at the terrorism there, but the heroism here." The mayor talked of those who have perished: "We remember them, we will always remember them, and in their name, we will rebuild New York."

Narrowing the Field
A month after the original primary election was to be held, Democrats today will finally decide whether Public Advocate Mark Green or Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer will be their candidate for mayor and face Republican Michael Bloomberg in the general election in November. The runoff today also features the contest for public advocate between former parks commissioner Betsy Gotbaum and civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel, the two top vote getters in the September 25 primary.

Only Democrats may vote in the election. Polls remain open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Daily News lists eight new polling place for voters in downtown Manhattan whose usual polling places are not open because of the September 11 attack. (To read the views of the four candidates, go to Gotham Gazette's Searchlight on Campaign 2001.

One Month Anniversary
It is exactly one month since two hijacked airliners crashed into the World Trade Center, killing thousands, toppling the towers and changing the city's life, politics and economy. In response, American warplanes yesterday bombed ground forces of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Here in New York, rescue operations and funerals continue, as life has changed in ways almost unimaginable only several weeks ago. Security checkpoints are a fact of life, and, as the New York Times notes, extraordinary devastation of a 16-acre tract in Lower Manhattan has become almost an accepted condition. But, the Times says, while New York has carried on, "the test of the city's resilience has only begun."

A number of observations will mark the anniversary today. At 8:48 a.m., the exact time when the first hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center, Mayor Giuliani, firefighters, police and other rescue workers are expected to observe a moment of silence during a memorial service at the disaster site. A special mass, presided over by Edward Cardinal Egan, will be held at St. Patrick£s Cathedral at 5:30 this evening. The New York Post provides details on several observances

Budget Revisions
Mayor Giuliani issued a revised city budget yesterday that cut $1 billion in spending. Uniformed services and the Board of Education will be asked to reduce spending by 2.5 percent and all other cities agencies will be asked to cut back 15 percent. "This puts a lot of pressure on the Commissioners," said Mayor Giuliani who added that he did not anticipate layoffs, but that there would be no new hiring. When asked how he could cut spending and still maintain the same level of services, the mayor said it was a matter of efficiency. "In a city budget of $39 billion, you can eliminate $1 billion and not affect a single blessed thing." In order to help the city, Giuliani also urged state lawmakers in Albany to approve the sale of Off-Track Betting and restoration of the stock transfer tax that was eliminated last year. On the federal level, Giuliani called for further tax cuts as well as larger reimbursements for Medicaid and aid to poor families, but warned against returning to the "tin cup brigade era where mayors would go to Washington and beg." Also yesterday, Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki requested an additional $54 billion worth of incentives, tax breaks and subsidies to rebuild the state and city economy and redevelop lower Manhattan.

The Democratic Primary runoff for mayor and public advocate is tomorrow, Thursday October 11.

On Alert
As the United States launched its second round of attacks on Afghanistan yesterday, New York is undergoing an increase in security measures. Armed National Guard troops, for example, have been assigned to such crowded public areas as Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station, state correction officers are guarding key spots along the city's water system, and city health officials have alerted hospitals to look for signs of illness induced by bioterrorism. "The city has all kinds of plans for any imaginable emergency," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said as he marched yesterday in a Columbus Day parade that, as one journalist put it, combined the patriotism of a nation at war with the tensions of a city under the threat of terrorism. The mayor and other officials emphasize that there has been no credible sign of any further terrorist threats in the city. But a month after the attack, as the shock and horror of the events of September 11th lessen, there are articles about New Yorkers who are persistently worried, obsessively cautious, and increasingly depressed. (See our interview with an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder.)

Cuts
As a result of the losses in tax revenue suffered since last month's terrorist attack, Mayor Rudy Giuliani is considering for the last months of his administration 15 percent budget cuts and a hiring freeze in all city agencies (except for the fire and police departments), according to the Times.

Note
The Online News Association http://www.journalists.org/ and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism announced yesterday the finalists for the Online Journalism Awards, which honor excellence in Internet journalism and are "judged by a team of distinguished journalism leaders." Gotham Gazette's Searchlight On Campaign 2001 was chosen as a finalist in the category of service journalism. The winners will be announced October 26.

Heightened Alert
The United States military launched an attack on Afghanistan yesterday, as George W. Bush announced in a televised address. Locally, Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the city will be on heightened alert, with armed police and national guard posted outside possible targets of terrorist attack in New York. Giuliani waded into the crowd at Times Square yesterday to reassure them, and said the Columbus Day Parade will proceed as planned today up Fifth Avenue. "We have to go ahead with going to [work], going to school, going to baseball games, going to football games, taking care of the children - doing the things we normally do," Giuliani said. "And having parades in honor of American heroes. "Just realize that we have to be a little more careful, or a lot more careful now than we were in the past," the mayor said.

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