Mayor Boosts London Hotel, Not the City

Mayor Bloomberg may be warning that London could overtake New York as the world's financial capital, but he has no worry about promoting the British capital, appearing yesterday at the opening of The London NYC hotel in Midtown.

Mr. Bloomberg scoffed at the suggestion that attending the launch made him guilty of British boosterism. "The hotel's here in New York City that I'm appearing at, not a hotel in London. It just happens to have the name London in it," the mayor told reporters in Brooklyn. "You know, I go to a restaurant, I might eat London broil," he quipped, drawing an eruption of laughter from the crowd.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bloomberg and Senator Schumer penned an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal in which they said New York was at risk of losing its financial capital edge to London.

"While New York remains the dominant global-exchange center, we have been losing ground as the leader in capital formation," Messrs. Bloomberg and Schumer wrote in the article.

The mayor made no mention of the article in brief remarks at the opening of the luxury hotel, but Britain's acting consul general, Jon Benjamin, did.

Referring to the headline of the article, "To Save New York, Learn from London," Mr. Benjamin said, "Well, it works both ways. We've got a lot to learn, too."

The 564-room London NYC, on 54th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues, was converted from the Rhiga Royal Hotel with a full renovation and redesign. It will also include the first American restaurant of a renowned British chef, Gordon Ramsay.