Crime Down, Test Scores Up, Mayor’s Latest Report Says
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Since Mayor Bloomberg took office, crime has dropped 21%, fire fatalities are at their lowest level since 1919, potholes are filled faster, test scores are skyrocketing, and the number of babies with lead poisoning has been reduced by nearly half, according to new data Mr. Bloomberg released yesterday.
The data, included in the Mayor’s Management Report for Fiscal Year 2005,were released on the eve of the Democratic primary election, the vote that could determine which candidate Mr. Bloomberg must face in November. Still, the mayor said, the release’s timing was unrelated to the political calendar.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with politics,” he said. “It’s certainly not going to influence the debate or impact the primary tomorrow.”
Nevertheless, as Mr. Bloomberg stood in the Blue Room of City Hall, surrounded by his commissioners, he repeatedly called the dense report “good reading” and recommended that voters consider his record thoroughly before voting in November.
“The public’s supposed to judge this administration on whether or not it’s done a good job,” he said. “So of course they’re going to look at this.”
A professor of public affairs at Baruch College, David Birdsell, said the Mayor’s Management Report has historically served as “the incumbent’s blueprint for why his administration has been successful,” and said he expected Mr. Bloomberg to “mine” the report for data to support his campaign.
A quick glance though the report provides plenty of rosy numbers, some of which have already turned up in campaign advertisements.
The record improvements in math and English test scores have appeared in campaign literature and advertisements, as have dropping crime numbers and the success of the 311 Citizen Service Center. Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday that 311, which was the subject of a recent glossy campaign mailing to all five boroughs, helped to buoy a fundamental change in the way city government operates.
“To say it’s been a success is a great understatement,” he said.
Each entry in the Mayor’s Management Report includes a 311 section, which details how often people inquired or complained about the agency or department in question.
In a slide presentation, Mr. Bloomberg highlighted strides in the economy and public health as well.
Unemployment fell back to pre-September 11 levels, construction is booming, the number of projects being presented to the City Planning Commission has tripled, and tourism has jumped to record highs.
New cases of AIDS dropped to 4,460 in 2005 from 5,149 in 2001,and the number of adults who smoke has dropped by nearly 200,000.
Even the huge percentage increase in syphilis cases, to 646 cases in the 2005 fiscal year from 188 in 2001, is starting to turn around since the numbers were released, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
“What we have seen is preliminary evidence that there’s a decrease in some risk-taking behavior and the speed of the increase has gone down,” the health commissioner, Thomas Frieden, said. “That’s not as good as beginning to go down … but we’re beginning to see some change.”
Even with Mr. Bloomberg’s positive spin, he said there was still much left to accomplish.
Rats, for one, present a problem. While the number of exterminations jumped to 88,100 from 83,900 last year and 64,900 in 2001, the proportion of facilities with rodent problems grew. The percentage of education facilities with signs of rodent infestation climbed to 13% from 8% in 2004. The proportion of public housing properties with signs of infestation climbed to 19% from 16%.
“There’s no question that we have a rat problem,” the mayor said. “I think part of the rat problem is that for the first time you can report it very easily. What is true is that the city has put out traps and poison at record rates. Whether we’re really staying ahead of the rat population or not, no one knows. Common sense says we probably are making some progress, but it’s just one of those things that’s so hard to measure.”
Emergency response times are another problem area. Average response times by the Fire Department to structural fires rose in all boroughs. Response times saw the largest increases in the Bronx. Mr. Bloomberg said it was something he intends to address, but he blamed the unions for the problem.
He also said he wanted to improve his pothole record – but said private companies should be held accountable.
“You drive down the street, you get bumped around a lot,” he said. “We don’t have the money to re-mill, repave anywhere near as many lane miles as we used to. I think that we have to do a better job of holding responsible those companies that dig up the road, put their cables or pipes underneath, and repave.”