Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Padavan Draw Large Crowd at NST

There was no shortage of residents trying to get a seat in Towers on the Green on Sunday, October 12 when Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Frank Padavan made an appearance together.
More than an hour before the scheduled start at 5 p.m., residents were lined up beginning at the Towers on the Green entrance and stretching beyond the restaurant. An estimated 1,000 came, with those unable to fit in Towers on the Green being seated in the movie theatre to watch the broadcast live on screen.
During their appearance together, Bloomberg and Padavan both expressed support for one another. Padavan is up for re-election and a change in term limits could result in Bloomberg running for a third term.
“Frank Padavan served his country in the army and he has been serving his state and his city and his country as much as anybody I have ever known in my life,” Bloomberg said, while also highlighting some of the senator’s achievements.
Before formally introducing Padavan to speak, the mayor addressed issues related to the economy.
“People are very worried and we’re going to have some very tough times,” Bloomberg said. “Sadly, there is no easy answer to fix the economy. Nobody’s going to do it overnight.”
In talking about how to fix the country’s economic problems, Bloomberg said he thought the bailout plans would be a part of that. He also said that “this government will bail out every big company that gets in trouble from now on, whether they should or they shouldn’t.”
Bloomberg said that there will be problems at both the city and state levels as tax revenues have gone down. He said it will become necessary to find new revenue sources while also doing more with less.
“There will be a lot of people on the steps of City Hall protesting because we’re going to have to force every city agency to do more with less,” he said.
In regards to personal wealth, Bloomberg said that the two pieces of advice he could give to people are to own diversified stocks and to not get involved with day trading.
“We’re going to have some tough times and I would rather have Frank Padavan, incidentally, in the state senate rather than anyone else to guide us,” Bloomberg said. “Somebody’s got to tell Albany that they can’t keep spending money the way they’ve been spending it.”
As Padavan began to speak, he too addressed the economic programs, saying that both the city and state will be affected since they get revenue from the financial community. He gave a couple of examples of ways New York can get more revenue.
First of all, he said that the state comptroller has released a report that shows there are 30,000 people within the state with Medicaid who do not actually live in New York. Padavan said that, when added up, this equals about a billion dollars.
He also noted that there is a law that says Native American tribes are supposed to be collecting taxes on items such as cigarettes and fuel. However, they are not doing so, which means the city and state are losing between half a billion and a billion dollars. The tribes are now being sued because of this.
Padavan also asked the audience if they wanted to see Bloomberg serve a third term. The question was met with loud applause and cheering.
“I know whatever he does it will be for the benefit of all the people in the state and city,” said Padavan, who also spoke about elected officials supporting mayors in order to make cities better.
Bloomberg and Padavan took several questions from the audience. In regards to city bonds and dividends, Bloomberg said that interest on bonds and pensions will always be paid. Bloomberg also noted that New York City’s credit rating is as high as it’s ever been and that life expectancy in the city is higher than the rest of the country.
“We’re doing a lot of good things here and that, in the end, is really the purpose of government,” Bloomberg said.
Padavan also assured the audience that city and state pensions are in good shape.
When property tax concerns were raised, Bloomberg said that last year it was reduced by seven percent with the reduction remaining in place for this year, although it remains possible that they will go up to the original amount in June. Bloomberg said that “if the economy continues to go down everything’s on the table” and that property tax is the only kind the city can change.
Padavan said that a property tax abatement for coops has been expanded for four years and the star program remains in effect, both of which should help.