The State Of The City: Where Queens Fits In

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave his State of the City address last Wednesday, with the cameras capturing his close-up at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City.
The bakery-turned-movie-and-television production facility served as the backdrop for the mayor to relay his administrations past years accomplishment of taming an unruly fiscal deficit and to announce his plans to give homeowners a property tax rebate and to introduce upcoming economic initiatives.
"I was elected to do the job, and not to spend my first four years in office campaigning," said the mayor. He stated that over his first two years in office, his mayoral style had girded the citys economy and job opportunities, saying, "Ive kept that promise and thats why we face the future with renewed optimism."
Bloomberg said the combination of a reviving economy and tax contributions allowed the city to finish the year with revenues exceeding expenses. The surplus, he said, will permit the surcharge on the personal income tax to sunset on schedule and the sales tax surcharge to end by June 1. As a result, he announced a rebate proposal that would roll back the property tax increase enacted in 2002, estimating an individual would save $400 .
"New York City taxpayers stepped up to the plate and now its time they got recognized for doing so," said Bloomberg. Despite the optimistic economic outlook, he warned that deficits were still on the horizon, noting an expected shortfall of $2 billion in the next fiscal year and $4 billion in the fiscal year after that.
The mayor also crowed over the citywide decrease in crime in 2003, with Queens leading the way in the decline of violent crimes. He said NYPD would continue with crime-fighting programs like Operation Impact, Spotlight and Silent Night. He also announced the city would hire 730 new officers who would be out patrolling the streets by July. The money to hire two new classes a year would come from $90 million in federal funds.
In projects specific to Queens, the mayor stated the city would continue to safeguard the deadly Queens Boulevard for pedestrians and said his administration would unveil engineering and enforcement initiatives later this month.
The mayor also vowed to preserve neighborhoods from over-development, or to the kind of building that "pile homes right on top of one another." He said efforts to manage growth on Staten Island would be used as a template for initiatives to protect neighborhoods like Bayside.
A litany of economic development projects is expected for the borough as well, said Bloomberg. He pointed to Queens-based Crystal Windows, which would break ground in College Point to expand its operations and create 150 new jobs. He also forecasted "a bright new future" for Flushing Airport that will create hundreds of new jobs. The city will also help finance an expansion of Kaufman-Astoria Studios, which is part of an industry that brings $5 billion a year to New York.
The mayor also said 30,000 new classroom seats will open next September, with more than half going to students in Queens.