Bloomberg Assails Those Who Embrace 'Xenophobia'

Calling on the leading Republican presidential candidates to open their eyes to the contributions of immigrants, Mayor Bloomberg used his State of the City speech to denounce the nativist sentiment that has infected the Republican field and to lay claim to the title of America's mayor.

In his annual State of the City address, Mr. Bloomberg appeared onstage with families that have roots in China, Colombia, India, and Italy, and live blocks from one another in Flushing, Queens. He hugged a baby recently born in America to the Italian immigrants. After introducing them to the crowd, he switched gears, ripping into politicians who have turned anti-immigrant in recent months.

RELATED: Text of Bloomberg's Prepared Remarks

"To those who are wailing against immigration, to those politicians who, all of a sudden, have embraced xenophobia, I say, Open your eyes," he said. "Take a look behind me. This is what makes America great. This is New York City. This is freedom. This is compassion, and democracy, and opportunity."

Without naming Mayor Giuliani during his speech, he took another swipe at his predecessor, saying the Bloomberg administration took over a "city government that was insular, and provincial, and married to the conventional."

A spokeswoman for Mr. Giuliani declined to comment.

Mr. Bloomberg, a potential presidential candidate, has been criticizing the major party candidates for failing to explain how they will solve tough problems.

Speaking before more than 1,000 politicians, city officials, and New Yorkers at a new $60 million ice skating rink and swimming pool complex in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Mr. Bloomberg spurned a property tax increase, called on Albany to require DNA fingerprinting for everyone who is arrested, and said he wants to end social promotion for eighth graders in public schools.

While touting the financial strength of the city, he said 2008 is likely to be difficult. The preliminary budget for 2009 he will present next week will contain cuts in spending and depend on support from state government and city unions, he said.

Defying earlier expectations, the mayor proposed extending the 7% property tax cut he instituted last year, and sustaining a $400 property tax rebate for homeowners. Supporting a property tax hike could have opened him up to criticism in New York and across the country in the event of a presidential run.

The mayor's tax proposal is contingent on a number of factors. It must be approved by the City Council as part of the annual budget, and Mr. Bloomberg warned that the cut is dependent on the health of the economy, support from Albany, and the city's financial outlook.

The mayor announced plans to create a commission to revise the City Charter, a document that lays out the procedures for succession in the event that a mayor exits office before the end of his term, and said it would conduct its review over the next 18 months. The charter hasn't been revised since Mayor Koch appointed a commission 20 years ago, he said.

"Since then, a lot has changed, and we've come to see redundancies, antiquated regulations, and areas for cost savings," he said. "It's time to apply those lessons in order to make government more accountable, and efficient. Not just this year, but permanently."

He also said the city would partner with an advocacy group, Citizens Union, to build a nonpartisan coalition to push for merit-based hiring at the city's Board of Elections, where the Democratic and Republican parties currently run the operation, and where there were problems in the 2004 election.

He used the speech to tout his fight against illegal guns, crediting the bipartisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns he founded for putting issue "back on the national agenda," and said the city will seek legislation to require gun manufacturers to use microstamping technology, which he said helps connect guns to crime scenes.

Mr. Bloomberg said the city will create an online database that will allow users to search data from 45 city agencies, including fire response times and noise complaints. He described it as a "Bloomberg terminal for city government," a reference to the workstations created by the financial news firm founded by the mayor, Bloomberg LP.

Although several members of the City Council said they were pleased with the mayor's proposal to keep the 7% property tax cut and a $400 property tax rebate for homeowners next year, a council member who represents Lower Manhattan and sits on the Finance Committee, Alan Gerson, a Democrat, said he's not prepared "to give the mayor a blank check" to continue the tax relief.

"I think it would be irresponsible of us to say we would support a continuation of the property tax rebate and cut without looking at its impact on the provision of vital services," he said. "It's not a question of giving back to the people or not, it's a question of how best to give back to the people, but how best and most responsibly to give back — through services or tax reduction."

The minority leader of the City Council, James Oddo, said the mayor's speech succeeded at keeping alive speculation that he will run for president. Mr. Oddo said even though conventional wisdom might say that a presidential hopeful wouldn't kick off a speech by showcasing his pro-immigration and anti-gun positions, the mayor's potential candidacy defies conventional wisdom.

"The universe of potential Bloomberg voters care about one thing: and that's somebody to go to Washington, transcend the gridlock, and get things done," he said.