Photo by Jordan Moss
Departing Borough President Adolfo Carrion gave his final State of the Borough speech this morning at Lehman College. If you were looking for a preview of what he plans to do in his new job, this wasn't it. He offered a retrospective of State of the Boroughs past and took credit for the Bronx's economic development since 2002.
And despite plenty of eloquent lines about the power and beauty of American cities, he didn't offer any details of what he wants to accomplish in his new role as first ever Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs. He shed no light on the president's priorities on this front, either: all of his references to Obama were to a speech Obama gave back in the summer, before he was elected.
Carrion did say, "Neglect is not a policy for America's urban areas," and added that we need "a policy looking at metropolitan areas, not just cities."
"We shouldn't be succeeding despite Washington, we should be succeeding with a hand from Washington," he said. But no news yet on what he thinks that hand will hold.
Photo by Jordan Moss
Surprise guest Sen. Charles Schumer introduced Carrion and crowed about the money New York will get from the federal stimulus bill and the advantage of having Carrion in the White House – an appointment he took some credit for.
"For the first time in this stimulus package, New York gets a lot more back than we sent to Washington," he said.
Pointing out that plenty of stimulus money will be distributed at the discretion of the president, he added, "And guess who will be making that decision? Our Borough President, Adolfo Carrion!
When you're there, we know you won't forget the Bronx, New York City, or New York State!"
We'll try to put up excerpts of Carrion's speech when we get it.
i wish someone would shed some light on what obama's priorities are. i'm not too confident based on his decisions thus far. it's interesting to read what people think his priorities should be, particularly during his first 100 days in office. this website could be a tremendous resource for him if he bothers to check it out. http://www.friendsoftheuschamber.com/email/email4.cfm?id=200
ReplyDeleteSPECIAL ELECTION FOR BRONX BP???
ReplyDeleteAT WHAT COST????
What stops Bloomberg from just withholding the announcement of a special election to replace Adolfo Carrion?
He did it with the property tax rebates. Delay, delay.
He should NOT announce. Let them take him to court. By the time it's settled it will be September and we can just have a regular primary at no extra cost.
SAVE US THE MONEY!!!