NEW YORK (dmn) – Michael R. Bloomberg was sworn in as New York’s 108th mayor Tuesday, vowing to help the city recover from the World Trade Center attacks but warning residents that tough economic times lie ahead.
Standing in front of an enormous American flag draped across the facade of City Hall, Mr. Bloomberg, 59, began by praising his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, who received a standing ovation from the crowd of 4,000 dignitaries. He said Mr. Giuliani had asked him “not to fail the people of New York,” and he answered to resounding cheers: “Rudy, I will not.”
On a frigid afternoon, Mr. Bloomberg took the oath of office from Judith Kaye, chief judge of New York’s Court of Appeals, while his 92-year-old mother, Charlotte, stood by his side. Bette Midler sang the national anthem to open the ceremonies, and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis played “America the Beautiful” as they ended.
In a no-nonsense speech, Mr. Bloomberg praised New York’s spirit. Yet he acknowledged that major fiscal cutbacks were inevitable, given the city’s looming $4.3 billion budget deficit and its loss of 100,000 jobs after the Sept. 11 attacks. He promised a 20 percent cutback in mayoral staffing and urged other city departments to do the same – a proposal met with scattered boos.
“We will not be able to afford everything we want,” said the Republican media mogul, who has never held elective office. “We will not even be able to afford everything we have.”
Mr. Bloomberg told New Yorkers that “this is not a time to fight with one another” and pledged cooperation with the federal government and New York Gov. George Pataki as the city begins to rebuild Lower Manhattan.
The mayor, who spent $69 million of his own money on his campaign and whose views on many issues are still largely unknown, gave an inkling of some controversial choices he would be making. He called for mayoral control of the city’s faltering schools, a position sure to antagonize the Board of Education and the teachers union. He expressed only lukewarm support for Mr. Giuliani’s 11th-hour plan to build $800 million domed baseball stadiums for the Yankees and Mets, saying such projects could only be launched “when we can afford them.”
