September 22, 2003

THE STATE OF THE CITY, Part II

By James Eugene*

Every January, politicians in any leadership role deliver an address about the "State" of the borough, city, state or union. Since I write a City column, I am must confess to have a recent desire to deliver a State of the City address of my own, because I have had the opportunity to reflect upon it over this summer. And I am basically reflecting on things I see and feel. The state of a City is more visual than any management report. During Mayor Prosecutor's reign, the people felt that the state of the City was better because they could see that the state of the City was better. And ultimately that is true, the state of the City is visual.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful New York City, shining and clean, protected and optimistic and it ran at a surplus! That city is gone. First, the economy slumped, and then, the unthinkable 9-11 occurred. (Remember that 9-11 only exacerbated a dangerous situation in our City's economy.) Then City services were cut. A billionaire Mayor, seemingly in Shangri-La land, declared that the City was doing more with less, as if saying it would make it so. (Message to the Mayor, this type of public relations only works for President Bush.) Or maybe the Mayor even believed it since it is nice to hear good news from your Commissioners. It is another thing to actually determine if it is true. That is what management is about. So things deteriorated because no one minded the store.

Now we have a dirtier City where a Sanitation Commissioner admits he cannot keep the streets clean (and the streets do look dirtier). We have a City with a heavier tax burden but no increase in services. We have a City with a gap in the budget because the Governor realized that the City wanted to cook its books and wouldn't let it (a case of the pot calling the kettle black, but the truth is two wrongs don't make a right). We have labor unions anxious for new contracts. And we have a Mayor who seems to think everything is hunky-dory.

To show you the political brains of Mayor Billionaire, you should try to figure this one out. First, he states he hopes that he could eliminate all of the tax increases by the end of his term. But next, at the same time, he wants the unions to agree to permanent give-backs. Earth to Mayor, labor unions are fine with tax increases if the alternative is give-backs. So now you have basically told them that they should fund any tax deductions. Most people could imagine the union reaction. Obviously, the Mayor could not.

Moreover, here to throw a wrench into everything is the Governor. The Mayor actually worked out a deal with the Legislature that was not clean. Under the deal, the City may or may not be able to sell bonds to balance its budget, but why agree to a deal with the Legislature that could potentially go through the Governor? The Governor (along with Comptroller Alan Hevesi), in this instance, has been made to look like a fiscal white knight, torpedoing a dubious refinancing of old debt. And worst of all, I agree with the Governor (I hate saying that)! After all, why pay off with over $5 billion when you can pay-off with $2.5 billion?

Moreover, all these articles about the City's economy rebounding... nonsense. Wall Street had a great first half of the year, which coincided with a rebound in the stock market. This produced more revenue for the City. But we can't count on the market to solve the city's fiscal problems. The market goes up; the market goes down. Meanwhile, pension costs are skyrocketing due to a deal cut by Mayor Prosecutor, that scion of good time government management that is not advising poor cities how to do things when he left the City in a future fiscal mess.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the subways. I ride them everyday. However, in the past month, I can count on one finger the amount of commutes where my subway has not been delayed. And whatever happened to the subway cars that were about to replace the red cars BEFORE Bloomberg even became Mayor. And how often am I driving in mislabeled subway cars? Could it be just about every ride? When is an express a local and a local an express? When riding the IRT, of course.

Open your eyes Mr. Mayor, the State of the City is not a bunch of numbers, but something you see and feel. The people who live in this City and not in pristine mansions and townhouses, know this. So Mr. Mayor, you must learn about what life is really like here. Go to places and obscure neighborhoods on a whim, on your own, without having your aides arrange it for you. See the City as it exists, not the picture another aide paints for you. Don't believe your press office's simplistic retorts that are oh so based on ignorance. Wake up before it's too late.

Yes, the State of the City is visual. And the visual is getting uglier.

* James Eugene is the pseudonym of a veteran of NYC government affairs. Inside The Big Apple will appear exclusively on the Empire Page. If you want to send tips or column ideas to James Eugene, email them to jameseugene@empirepage.com.