Bayside Stands Up For Mayor

Mayor Michael Bloomberg received a standing ovation last week as the guest speaker of The Queens Jewish Community Councils annual breakfast. The affair offers an awards ceremony, a fundraising event and a huge buffet breakfast. But this was the first year they were honored with the mayor and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller.
Bloomberg and Miller spoke about several issues affecting the Queens area, including the economy, education and crime.
"It is our job to provide all the services you should expect from your city government," Bloomberg said. "Unfortunately, we are paying for the problems of the last few decades and we need to balance our budget. We are not going to pass on our expenses to our children."
The mayor seemed most pleased at the citys decreasing crime statistics, citing that there are only about 20 cities in the country that have less criminal activity per person than New York. He also fully explained the advantages of 311.
"Its a program that does something for everybody. For an emergency, dial 911. For everything else, call 311."
Available in 170 different languages, 311 also gives the city a way of tracking complaints and letting the city officials know if they are doing their job.
Among those being honored were Senator Frank Padavan with the Claire Shulman Public Service Award, Mala Desai with the Chesed Award; and Ruth and Sam Bloom with the Community Service Award.
"Its wonderful that so many people came here today," said Jan Fester, president of the Queens Jewish Community Council. "We want people to know what were about. We have different types of people who worship here with different beliefs. We are unified in our diversity."