For The Record

President Clinton, joined by Mayor Bloomberg and London Mayor Ken Livingstone, unveiled a plan May 16 under which five banks will each invest $1 billion toward modernizing buildings to make them more energy-efficient and reduce their emission of greenhouse gases.

The banks' investments, Mr. Clinton said, would pay off in reduced energy costs and a healthier environment in which to do business in the 16 cities that have signed up to participate.

"Cities use more than 75 percent of the world's energy and generate more than 75 percent of its greenhouse gases," said the former President, whose two terms in the White House are remembered ever more fondly with each passing day of George W. Bush in office. "Most buildings in those cities are remarkably inefficient."

He praised Mr. Bloomberg for the comprehensive plan he issued last month to curtail energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions starting with city agencies, saying the Mayor had "proved one more time that he's willing to take on a tough issue and see it through."

"I think we have to do more on transportation, I think we have to do more on agriculture, and reduce methane emissions," Mr. Clinton said when asked for a sweeping prescription for the environmental problems.

There was more than a bit of banter among the President and the two Mayors during the press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria. Mr. Bloomberg, his tongue sliding progressively further into his cheek, remarked, "Bill Clinton has taught me a great deal about leadership, about being strong, about being charismatic, about being tall, about being Southern."

Mayor Livingstone, who has introduced a congestion pricing plan in London aimed at reducing traffic and emissions, told his New York counterpart, "You may find some negative and hostile criticism as you tackle the problem of traffic congestion."

"Not here in New York," Mr. Bloomberg replied in mock disbelief.

When Mr. Clinton was asked what he thought about congestion pricing in New York, he responded, "The longer I sit in traffic, the better I like it."

As to whether Mr. Bloomberg could steer his proposal through the already-mounting political opposition, the former President remarked, "I remember when people said he was committing political suicide when he came out for smoke-free restaurants when business was already off 15 percent after 9/11. But he was right, and events proved him right. I wouldn't bet against the Mayor's judgment on this."

Mr. Clinton's more-boyish nature surfaced when a female reporter with a British accent asked him a question. "We're all trying to read your shirt," he responded, speaking for the two Mayors flanking him.

The shirt read, "Good girls go to Heaven. Bad girls go to New York."

"You can tell I'm not running for office or I wouldn't have said that," the former President quipped.

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New York State United Teachers has stepped up its efforts on behalf of a bill that would permit gay couples in New York State to marry, with its executive vice president sending a letter to legislators describing it as a civil rights issue.

"While members of labor unions have a variety of views about marriage, according to their personal or religious beliefs, it is a fundamental, uniting principle of the labor movement that all people are entitled to equal rights," NYSUT VP Alan Lubin stated in a May 9 letter.

The Marriage Equality Bill was introduced in Albany by Governor Spitzer. It is also endorsed by NYSUT's New York City affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers, and several large private-sector unions, including Local 1199 of the Service Employees' International Union, SEIU Building Workers Local 32BJ, and the Retail, Wholesale Department Stores Union.

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The New York City Labor Chorus will hold its 8th annual benefit concert June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ethical Culture Society Auditorium near Lincoln Center.

The 75-member group, which comes from 25 different union locals, will perform gospel, jazz, classical and folk numbers. Tickets are $25, with seniors, students and unemployed persons admitted for $15.

For further information, call Jeff Vogel at (917) 597-7933.