The City of New York

Office of the Mayor

New York, NY 10007

MAYOR BLOOMBERG CALLS INTO NACHUM SEGAL'S "JM IN THE AM" RADIO SHOW TO GIVE ROSH HASHANAH GREETINGS

Date: September 18, 2009

Location: WFMU 91.1 FM

Event:Calls Into Nachum Segal's "JM in the AM" Radio Show to Give Rosh Hashanah Greetings

Topics:

• New Year Greetings from the Mayor
• NYPD Works With Communities During Religious Ceremonies
• Terrorism Arrests Being Made Around the Country
• Dangerous World Where Freedoms Are in Jeopardy
• City Using Title I Money to Help Yeshivas Pay For Costs of Secular Education
• Mayor Given His First Shofar
• Shopping Trip in Flatbush for the Holidays
• Economy Doesn?t Improve For Everyone at the Same Rate, Time
• Business Improving Somewhat for Small Businesses
• Easier for City to Help Small Businesses Than International Companies
• City Helps Small Business Owners Find Loans, Deal With Banks
• Recent Campaign Stop With Former Mayor Ed Koch
• Koch Undefeatable After Two Heart Surgeries
• Mayor's Mother Comes from Jersey City
• Wishes Shana Tova to Listeners, Community

Nachum Segal: Welcome to a Friday morning, Erev Rosh Hashanah. The Mayor of the City of New York, kind enough to join us this morning for a few minutes. New Years greetings and an update on what?s happening in the great city of ours. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, welcome back to JM in the AM.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: Happy to be at JM in the AM all the time, particularly on what?s going to be, I hope, a very sweet year for all of us.

Segal: Yeah, let?s hope it is, in fact, a great year for everybody. I know that you are anticipating a very safe, secure and wonderful Rosh Hashanah and High Holiday season for everyone, correct?

Mayor: I am. In terms of safety, the NYPD is doing what it does whenever there is-concentrations of people and heightened concerns because of visibility. So religious ceremonies and services and holidays all are included there, regardless of which one and we try to work with every community to make sure that, number one, we have the appropriate security measures there and, number two, we can satisfy- we can tell the community and make sure that they feel secure, because that?s just as important as having the facts right.

Segal: We keep reading about different cases that are being investigated, some arrests that are made in different parts of the country, a desire on some to damage parts of New York City. Some of these things can be a little scary, especially this time of year.

Mayor: Well, we live in a dangerous world and our freedoms have been given to us by young men and women who have been fighting and, sadly, dying for, you know, the last 235 years in this country. And I think that?s a lesson that we all have to make sure that we teach our kids, that if we want to be able to practice our religion and say what we want to say and be in control of our own destiny and live the way that we want to live, rather than having somebody tell us how to live, we?ve got to make sure that everybody else, number one, has the same freedoms we want for ourselves. And number two, that these freedoms don?t come easily and are always in jeopardy.

Segal: Right. Very important message. Now you were in Brooklyn this week, Mr. Mayor, launch of free instructional tutoring for yeshiva students. This is actually going to benefit a very large number of students in this city, correct?

Mayor: It is. It?s a way to use Title I monies to help something like 55 schools, of which 46 happen to be yeshivas. But it- what the money does is when there are economic problems, the federal government has a program, which we?ve figured out how to use more effectively, to pick up the secular part of the cost of their education. The federal government?s not going to do the religious part, but it will pick up the secular cost. That frees up money to do other things. And I was given a shofar. My first personal shofar. Now what I?m going to do with it, I don?t know. I have yet to take it out of the case and try to use it and I?m not going to hear anybody use the shofar tomorrow because it?s Shabbos as well as the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

Segal: Very good, Mr. Mayor.

Mayor: But after that- I might try it before sunset today, just for about 12 seconds to show that I?m not a great musician.

LAUGHTER

Segal: I can?t believe it?s the first one you own.

Mayor: Well, I?ve just never had a personal one.

Segal: Never bargained for one in the market in Israel, huh?

Mayor: I have- I never did that. As a matter of fact, I was at a Protestant church representing the City a few weeks ago and the minister took out one and actually wasn?t so bad with it.

Segal: He did a good job, huh?

Mayor: I mean, it?s- you know, we?re not the only ones that use a ram?s horn.

Segal: That is great. Now what was with yesterday?s shopping expedition in Brooklyn? Did it go well for Erev Yontif?

Mayor: I was in Flatbush and I bought- the whole purpose was to buy a little bit- well, the real purpose is just to be out there in the community and show that, you know, the City is pulling together; it always does. And that- if it?s a chance for a little bit of press coverage and others to be reminded that Jews have their New Years now and it?s- when I say ?happy new year? I say ?happy new year? to everyone, Jews and non-Jews. And I hope that it is for everyone. I did buy some honey. I was in negotiation with a store owner, with a great guy, as to which kind and whether I should buy a honeycomb or a jar full of honey and so I compromised and bought a jar with a honeycomb in it.

LAUGHTER

Mayor: I also, since I was there, bought some more horseradish, which will be used tonight at dinner, and an apple, needless to say, for the symbolism of the apple.

Segal: So, all in all, you were satisfied with the purchases?

Mayor: I was more than satisfied. The place seemed reasonable. They actually threw in a book on some practices, some of which I read on the way back in the car.

Segal: Very nice.

Mayor: Some things are new; some things I didn?t know. You can always learn more about even your own religion.

Segal: Oh, yes.

Mayor: And it was very nice, so it?s- you know, I think it?s going to be a good year. The economy- there are people who are still suffering and I think as the economy improves the danger is that we forget that it doesn?t improve for everybody at the same time or at the same rate.

Segal: Give me- give me one indication that said to you, ?You know what? Things are getting a little better.? Was there anything that?s happened in the last few weeks where you said to yourself, ?Oh, I see things are turning a bit??

Mayor: Yeah, if you talk to small store owners and restaurants; for example, the owner of the supermarket where I shopped last night. He said business is somewhat better.

Segal: That?s a good sign.

Mayor: And, yeah, it?s small businesses, Nachum, that employ 50% of the people that work in the private sector in our city and so they?re as good an indicator as any. Also, it?s something- small businesses are organizations that the City can help easily or relatively easily. If you have a branch of a big, international company, we want them here; they?re taxpayers, they?re employers. But the City itself with its programs short-term can?t really help them. We can make it more attractive for the kinds of people they want to hire and taxes in the longer term, but in terms of a program, we have a lot of programs that help individual small businesses find loans and individuals deal with the banks if they get in trouble with their mortgages and individuals get training for the kind of jobs that are becoming available, as opposed to the jobs that they had in industries that were declining. You know, it?s like teaching. In the end- we talk about a lot of things with teaching, but teaching is really one teacher at the front of the room talking to one student. Well, small business is exactly that. It?s very- it?s a scale where you can customize and understand the problem and everybody?s problem is different.

Segal: Are you enjoying the campaign this time around?

Mayor: You know, it?s- I always enjoy people. I like riding the subways, believe it or not. I like- I was with the great former Mayor Ed Koch at a subway stop two days ago. Ed says it?s his lucky subway stop. When he campaigned there he always won, and the year he didn?t, he forgot to campaign there or it didn?t work into his schedule.

LAUGHTER

Mayor: Whether that really had an effect, I don?t know. But you know, Ed has just come out of the hospital after two open heart surgeries and he is just undefeatable. It?s- he- number one, he had a smile on his face and an understanding of what is going on, and the people love him. He is- he was a great mayor and it was really nice. People kept saying to me, ?Good luck, Mayor. I?m going to vote for you.? And I said, ?Hey, you know, I?m worried that Ed Koch is coming back.?

Segal: What a New York icon he is. Just unbelievable. Mr. Mayor, I thank you because you?re among the select group of government officials and leaders who appreciate the fact that the Jewish world has a voice here every single morning. It?s always a pleasure both to welcome you both in person in Jersey City and of course on the telephone to greet our listeners. I take this opportunity-

Mayor: Never forget, Nachum, that my mother comes from Jersey City.

Segal: Oh that?s right, of course.

Mayor: So-

Segal: Like visiting the old country.

Mayor: It is like visiting the old country when I- when I come and it?s- hopefully it?s a good year for everybody. Let me say shana tova to all of your listeners and to the entire community and if we pull together and help each other I think the future for America and New York and all of us is great.

Segal: Appreciate that. Shana tova, happy, healthy, sweet new year Mr. Mayor. Thank you again.

Mayor: Thank you.