Mayor Bloomberg delivers State of the City address

Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his eighth annual State of the City address at Brooklyn College Wednesday, focusing on New York City?s economic recovery and long-term job creation. Speaking for just

News 12 Staff

Jan 16, 2009, 12:37 AM

Updated 5,823 days ago

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered his eighth annual State of the City address at Brooklyn College Wednesday, focusing on New York City?s economic recovery and long-term job creation.
Speaking for just under an hour, the mayor addressed a wide range of topics ranging from economy and crime to public health policy and tourism.
Bloomberg opened his election-year speech by saying that the temporary state of the city had been shaken, but not broken. He went on to outline a three-part strategy aimed at creating 400,000 new jobs in the next six years, improving quality of life in every borough and increasing agency accountability.
?Rather then spending new dollars, we have to redeploy resources and repurpose budgets, and we will,? Bloomberg said.
The mayor outlined several new development programs, including capital projects in all the five boroughs that are expected to put 25,000 people to work in the near future. Emphasizing the importance of making New York City more attractive for entrepreneurs, Bloomberg said his government will offer emergency loans for small businesses to help them stay afloat and encourage the creation of more green businesses.
?We could become the Silicon Valley of sustainability,? he said.
Building on previous successes in the realm of crime-fighting, Bloomberg vowed to step up crackdowns on quality-of-life crimes, proposing a state law making it a felony to commit six or more such crimes within two years. The mayor also said he will team up with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to push for stricter gun regulations.
The mayor concluded his address by telling New Yorkers not to be discouraged by the financial crisis, but work together to end it.
?An economic recession [has not] stopped New Yorkers from being bold and ambitious,? Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg is expected to present the preliminary city budget for the next fiscal year Jan. 30.
To watch Mayor Bloomberg's State of the City address, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO Extra.
AP wires contributed to this report.