Among the capital projects in fiscal 2009 are digging the number 7 train extension to Hudson Yards, building five new public libraries and opening the first section of the High Line, a park developed from a defunct elevated railway line in Manhattan. "For the past year, we've been pushing Washington to focus the federal stimulus on 'ready to build' infrastructure," said Bloomberg. "In all fairness, they've finally come around." He said his administration looks forward to working with Congress and President-elect Barack Obama, "not just on the stimulus package, but on re-thinking the entire way we fund infrastructure projects in this country."
Bloomberg said the plan is intended to continue diversifying the city's economy away from its dependence on the financial services sector. For example, the Hunts Point produce terminal--which employs more than 6,000--will be modernized this year, and the city will begin development at the recently rezoned Willets Point in Queens. In addition, "we'll continue investing in our cultural institutions that bring millions of tourists and support hundreds of thousands of jobs."
To further the third point of the plan--strengthening small businesses--the Bloomberg administration is looking to create more business improvement districts and to make it easier for small IT firms to apply for city contracts. Bloomberg said small businesses could also benefit from the fourth point of the plan: modernizing and simplifying the city's business taxes.
"We are going to do everything possible to make it easier to do business with the city, and that's the fifth piece of our jobs plan," said Bloomberg. "This year, our Business Express web site will, for the first time, allow one-stop shopping for city permits, making it easier and faster to start or expand a business. We'll bring together all the city agencies that work with housing and commercial developers--and hold them accountable for avoiding delays." Also, he said, "for the first time, we'll put illustrations of developers' plans online and make it easier for community residents to review projects in their neighborhoods."
Growing the city's green industries, the sixth point of the nine-point plan, will entail "greening" the building code and enacting the nation's first law to require existing private sector buildings to improve their energy efficiency. "Those two steps will reduce our carbon footprint and create jobs for people with green skills," Bloomberg said. "The city will also create its own green jobs by investing $900 million over the next nine years to retrofit city schools, hospitals, and other buildings with new energy systems. That work will support 1,000 jobs in the construction industry, save taxpayers money, and help us meet our goal of reducing City government's carbon footprint 30% by 2017."
Other points covered in the plan include job-skills training, spurring job creation through earned-income tax credits and encouraging start-up ventures. "When the aspiring entrepreneurs are ready to take the next step, we'll help them find office space," Bloomberg said. "Right now, many landlords face rising levels of vacancies. But a number of academic institutions see value in those vacancies, and are interested in creating incubator space for new start-ups. By connecting these two groups, we can fill vacant commercial space and help launch start-ups that may have come up with the next big thing."
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
