Taking Credit for Rebound That Remade City Economy

Why the heck can't this model be followed for a city like Bangalore? Why do we need leftist(Indian leftists are amazingly stupid) in power as the mayor, chief minister etc? The damn deve gowda government of bangalore is ruining shit for everybody in bangalore. Deve Gowda needs to go back to farming in his village. Bastard.

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Nearly four years after Mr. Bloomberg took office, unemployment in the city is at a 20-year low. Tourists are arriving in droves and major companies have stayed put. Cuts to balance the city budget - $3.6 billion to date - did not result in the dire erosion of services foretold by critics on the left, nor did tax increases hamper economic growth, as conservatives had warned they would.

From the perspective of many of the city's employers, the Bloomberg administration has been far more proactive than any other City Hall in recent memory in stimulating economic development through rezoning policies, neighborhood improvements and the active seduction of companies and new industries.

"He basically has restructured and transformed the city's economic development functions," said Kathryn S. Wylde, president of the New York City Partnership, a consortium of business leaders, who was once banned from City Hall under the Giuliani administration for being critical of its strategies.

"Instead of waiting for someone to come and say they want subsidies, they consider it the responsibility of the economic development folks to cultivate relationships with key industries."

Even Critics Offer Praise

But even the mayor's critics have strong praise for his management of the city's overall economy. "This administration has really transformed economic development," said Jonthan Bowles, the research director for the Center for an Urban Future, who is a frequent critic of the mayor's policies.

He added: "They are going after sectors of the economy with assertiveness that wasn't there before. Their focus on the boroughs outside New York is impressive. I don't see eye-to-eye with him on the stadium or a couple of other projects, but I do credit the administration for trying to diversify the economy and thinking more strategically."

Mr. Bloomberg's Democratic challenger, Fernando Ferrer, did not respond to several requests for comment on Mr. Bloomberg's economic development record.

The conventional wisdom about Mr. Bloomberg's private-sector background is that it has helped mold his leadership style, in that he treats the city like a business, for better or worse.

But in trying to steer the city's economy, that has meant a reliance on management strategies and good connections.

For instance, the administration started its term by bringing in a firm to dispassionately evaluate the city's economy, and created a task force with many executives to figure out what industries should be courted to lay down roots or locate corporate headquarters in New York.

Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Doctoroff sought to bring a more professional quality to the city's Economic Development Corporation, which previously had a reputation not only for being an employer for political patrons, but also for being less than aggressive in courting new businesses. The two brought on Andrew M. Alper, a former partner at Goldman Sachs, to run the agency. The three wealthy men earn a combined $3 a year for their services.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/nyregion/metrocampaigns/09econ.html?pagewanted=all