Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

“The only way to protect pensions for our City workers – including our police officers and firefighters, teachers, sanitation workers, and correction officers, is to reform the system so that we can afford it, and at the same time afford the vital services that New Yorkers want and depend on. We have proposed and pushed pension reform before, and we have achieved some improvements, particularly with the United Federation of Teachers. But now we must go further – and capitalize on the reform agenda that Governor Cuomo has brought to Albany. Governor Cuomo campaigned on pension reform, and he will have our full support.

FAMILY CENTERS ON RIKERS ISLAND

FATHERHOOD INITIATIVE

“And as part of our Fatherhood Initiative, we’ll construct three new family centers on Rikers Island to provide incarcerated fathers more opportunity to spend time with their visiting children, so that their time apart does not become a lifetime, and hopefully that connection will also impart some tough life lessons to those kids.

“We can’t keep every young person out of trouble – but we can do more to get them back on track. This year, we’ll work with the judiciary and the Center for Court Innovation to develop a Youth Justice Center that will handle delinquency and criminal cases for young people up to the age of 21, engaging the community in preventing crimes. Prevention makes so much more sense than having to go after bad guys.

Read the full State of the City Address.  Click on link to download.