THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

N E W Y O R K , N Y 10 00 7

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2010
No. 355
www.nyc.gov

MAYOR BLOOMBERG DISCUSSES THE CITY’S LATEST INFRASTRUCTURE

INVESTMENTS FOR THE FUTURE AND NEW RECORD TOURISM NUMBERS IN
WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS

The following is the text of Mayor Bloomberg’s weekly radio address as prepared
for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, August 15, 2010

“Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

“There’s something about seeing a new bridge go up that’s just as exciting today as it was
more than century ago, when so many of our city’s great bridges were first constructed. Over the
past few weeks, many New Yorkers experienced that thrill first-hand, as they watched the new
Willis Avenue Bridge make its journey down the Hudson, and then up the East River to its final
destination in the Harlem River. On Monday, that journey came to an end when the 2,400-ton
bridge was finally floated into place.

“About two months from now, the new span will open to traffic and replace the original
Willis Avenue Bridge, which has served our city since 1901. The new bridge features improved,
direct connections to the FDR Drive and northbound Major Deegan Expressway, and is part of
more than $5 billion in bridge investments made by our Administration since 2002. We have
continued to make essential investments in our transportation infrastructure, even in tough
economic times, because these projects strengthen our city’s quality of life and our global
competitiveness.

“Great cities also need great gateways – and last week we stood with Delta Airlines as the
company announced a major, $1.2 billion modernization and expansion of its international terminal
at JFK Airport. When it opens in 2013, the new terminal will welcome millions more international
passengers to our city.

“The Delta expansion will create an additional 10,000 jobs in the metropolitan area over the
next three-and-a-half years, and increase the company’s impact on our regional economy by almost
50 percent, to $19 billion annually.

(more)
 “Investments in our city’s transportation infrastructure will pay returns many times over in
increased Broadway ticket sales, hotel room nights, retail and restaurant business, and all the many
jobs that these industries help support. In fact, the latest tourism numbers show that more visitors
are coming here than ever. During the first six months of this year, some 23.5 million people
visited New York City. That’s an increase of nearly 9 percent over the same period last year. It
puts us on track to exceed our record-setting 2008 tourism number of 47 million visitors, and also to
meet our goal of hosting 50 million annual visitors by the year 2012.

“While tourism in other cities is also rebounding, no city will come close to us in terms of
total visitors this year, except for Orlando, Florida. It was just last year that New York beat out
Orlando as the nation’s top tourist destination. And if we finish the year strong, we may well do it
again.

“The fact that our city is rebounding further and faster than other cities is no coincidence.
The momentum we’re seeing now is directly tied to the investments we continued to make, even in
the deepest months of the national recession. And if we can keep improving our city’s quality of
life, if we keep building the roads, airport terminals, and bridges that will bring our city through this
century and beyond, we can continue making our city the world’s greatest place to live, work, and
visit.

“This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening.”

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Contact: Stu Loeser (212) 788-2958