FOR THE RECORD

FOR THE RECORD
 
Mayor Bloomberg, who has been known to take his political ambitions out for a walk in the New York Times, did so again last week, with the paper reporting that he conducted a poll to see how receptive voters were to either amending the Term Limits Law so he could run for Mayor again or to a possible bid for Governor in 2010.

The poll found, according to the Times, that while those surveyed approved of the job he is doing, a majority did not believe it was a good idea to alter the law currently restricting the city's elected officials to two terms in office. They were more kindly disposed toward his running for Governor, but the Mayor - who used the Times to declare himself a non-candidate for President earlier this year and has also had New York Magazine float the merits of his being the vice presidential choice of both John McCain and Barack Obama - insisted he had no designs on the job now held by David Paterson.

Mr. Bloomberg had previously stated that after stepping down as Mayor at the end of next year he planned to devote much of his time to giving his fortune away to worthwhile causes. In an indication that he has grown more reluctant to step away from the power he can exert as a government official - not to mention the attention he can command - he told the Times June 4, "I have no idea whether [philanthropy is] going to be enough for me or not. You can make a big difference in this world, and I don't know what specifically I'm going to do any more than you know what specifically you're going to do in a year and a half."

The most likely way to amend the Terms Limits Law would be through a voter referendum, but New Yorkers have rejected two previous ballot issues on that subject since the law took effect following the 1993 mayoral election. Such a change would be of more than passing interest to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn - who is expected to run for Mayor next year - and the large majority of her colleagues who also are facing the mandatory end of their terms and casting their eyes on other offices as a result.

Reports that former Council Members who were forced out previously by term limits are now revving up to run for their old seats, and that the children and siblings of past and present Council Members are also candidates, suggest the Term Limits Law hasn't worked quite as planned.

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Taking a page from former Mayor Ed "How'm I Doin'?" Koch's playbook, Mayor Bloomberg and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum June 3 announced a citywide survey of public opinion about the quality of city services.

The questionnaire will be sent to more than 100,000 city households selected at random, asking their opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of municipal services. Among the topics covered will be cleanliness, noise, pest and rat control, recycling services, graffiti control, and pedestrian safety. Survey participants will also be asked to rate the responses of agencies with which they've recently had dealings.

A statement issued by Mayor Bloomberg indicated that officials will be looking to get a large-enough sample from each of the city's 59 community boards to gauge where strengths and weaknesses may exist in some areas even if there isn't a citywide problem.

Ms. Gotbaum said the project would ultimately "lead to better city services."

Mr. Bloomberg said the survey was consistent with such initiatives as CompStat - begun during the Giuliani administration - which helped reduce crime to record lows by allowing the Police Department to isolate problem areas and focus its resources accordingly, and his own 311 and SCOUT programs (a quality-of-life initiative that involves driving through all city streets to detect quality of life problems ranging from potholes to graffiti).

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The Sanitation Department June 8 held its 11th annual Michael Hanly Memorial 5K Run in Brooklyn, paying tribute to a Sanitation Worker who was killed in 1996 when a hydrofluoric acid container accidentally burst, spraying its contents on him.

The run began at the Bay Ridge sanitation garage named in his memory, with awards given to the top individual runners from both sexes representing each of the city's uniformed departments.

The proceeds from the race will go to the families of sanitation workers killed in the line of duty, principally for the education of their surviving children. The Sanitation Department noted that since Mr. Hanly's passing, seven other Sanitation Workers and a District Superintendent have died in the line of duty.