Council's Felder Sides With Mayor

A Democratic member of the City Council, Simcha Felder, made his support for Mayor Bloomberg unmistakable yesterday, introducing him at a room of mostly Orthodox Jewish leaders at Boro Park as a champion of the community.

Mr. Felder, who accompanied the mayor last month on a trip to Jerusalem for the opening of a new Holocaust museum, showered Mr. Bloomberg with praise on everything from his budget savvy to his development goals.

When the council member commended the Republican mayor for coming out against a controversial tunnel project that would send more trains roaring through the community, the crowd erupted in applause.

Mr. Felder even commended Mr. Bloomberg for the way he paves roads. For years, Mr. Felder said, city government poured cement over the defunct trolley tracks on McDonald Avenue, but Mr. Bloomberg finally agreed to rip up the tracks and fix the problem once and for all.

"Mike Bloomberg is a real friend," Mr. Felder declared, as the mayor sat by his side with a yarmulke on his head.

Mr. Bloomberg, in turn, announced several big community projects that will further endear him to an important group of voters in November's election. One of those announcements was the rezoning of a six-block area, which will clear the way for several hundred new apartments and homes.

The mayor also said the city would sell to a local nonprofit group two city owned blocks so it can build even more housing, and would sell another lot in the neighborhood so that Hatzolah, the community volunteer ambulance service, can erect a 15,000-square-foot facility.

The coordinator of Hatzolah, Elliot Roseman, said the new facility would help the medics respond faster. "Every time an ambulance goes out you will be part of the mitzvah," he told the mayor.

Mitzvah is the Hebrew word for good deed.