Top Officials Laud Poverty Group

The city and state's top elected officials yesterday praised the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty at the group's 32nd annual legislative breakfast in Midtown.

Among the speakers at the event were several likely mayoral candidates in 2009, including the speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, the city's comptroller, William Thompson Jr., and Rep. Anthony Weiner.

Governor Paterson commended the Met Council for its charity work on housing, health care, and hunger. "Thanks to you, there are 100,000 children who receive health insurance in this state," he said, referring to the group's efforts to enroll eligible New Yorkers in subsidized health insurance plans.

Mayor Bloomberg, one of America's most generous philanthropists, praised the organization as an example of how the private and public sectors can combine to help improve people's lives.

"Certainly at the city level, we can't do it alone. We need the private sector and the philanthropic center to work together," Mr. Bloomberg said. He added that while the city faces many challenges in confronting poverty, the situation is improving, thanks in part to the efforts of nonprofit organizations.

"The Met Council really does make a difference," he said. "We are making progress — and you have to be willing to admit that or you're never going to sign people on to keep working."