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Bloomberg Takes on Pension Reform in State of the City Address

By DNAinfo Staff on January 19, 2011 9:50am  | Updated on January 19, 2011 3:34pm

Mayor Bloomberg delivers his 2011 State of the City Address at the St. George Theater in Staten Island.
Mayor Bloomberg delivers his 2011 State of the City Address at the St. George Theater in Staten Island.
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Spencer T. Tucker, Mayor's Office

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg painted a bleak economic picture in his annual State of the City address Wednesday as he outlined a series of contentious reforms to overhaul the pension system and rules governing teacher firing to save the city money.

"The economic future of the city is hanging in the balance," Bloomberg told the audience at the soaring St. George Theater in Staten Island. The city is facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit that is only expected to grow worse as state aid shrinks.

Bloomberg announced a package of reforms to the pension system, including a proposal to hike the retirement age for new non-uniformed city workers to 65 years.

He also proposed eliminating holiday bonuses for future uniformed retirees and called on Albany to overturn a State law that prohibits the city from negotiating pensions as part of its collective bargaining process.

"The only way to protect pensions for our City workers — including our police officers, firefighters, teachers, sanitation workers, and correction officers, is to reform the system so we can afford it," he said.

This year, the city is set to spend $7 billion in pension costs, up from $1.5 billion in 2001, he said.

Bloomberg also pushed his plan to reform teacher hiring practices so that layoffs can be based on performance, not just how long a teacher has taught.

But Bloomberg drew glares from United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew when he suggested that the city could save money by firing higher paid, longer-serving teachers and keeping on lower paid, newer teachers.

"They didn't discuss any of this with us," an angry Mulgrew said following the speech.

In addition to the cuts, Bloomberg announced several new local initiatives, ranging from new grants for civic groups to waving fines for any restaurant that receives an "A" grade.

The mayor also announced a new ferry service that will travel along the East River with stops at Wall Street, 34th Street and in Brooklyn and Long Island City — part of a larger waterfront redevelopment plan.

One proposal the mayor introduced — a plan to legalize livery cabs in the outer boroughs — is already earning scorn from Upper Manhattan residents who complained they should be included too.

Bloomberg ended his speech speaking passionately about one of his long-standing issues: reforming gun laws to keep illegal weapons off the streets.

"As long as we allow dangerous and deranged people to buy guns, the promise of a more perfect union will remain empty for the thousands of Americans who are murdered with guns every year," he told the applauding crowd.

The speech was an opportunity for the mayor to set his ship back on course after several difficult months dominated by criticism of his pick for schools chancellor, the CityTime scandal and the sluggish response to the post-Christmas blizzard, which sent his approval ratings tumbling.

But some thought he missed his chance to make amends.

"I don't think he offered a bigger vision... about where we're going," said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who described the mayor's contentious tone toward labor unions and Albany as "classic Michael Bloomberg."

Following the speech, Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement saying he was looking forward to working with the mayor to put the economy back on track.

"Mayor Bloomberg has laid out an innovative and realistic agenda to position his administration to aggressively address the critical challenges facing New Yorkers. He rightly recognizes that government has to do more with less and that during these difficult times, tough choices and sacrifice are required," he said.

During his State of the City address last year, Bloomberg announced his plan to merge the Administration for Children Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice.