Trying to make the most of scarce resources, Mayor Bloomberg announced a low-cost crackdown yesterday on quality-of-life crimes by establishing a “Dirty Dozen” list of the worst offenders in each borough.
“Let me make you this promise now,” Bloomberg declared at Brooklyn College in his eighth State of the City speech. “We won’t cede an inch to the squeegee men, turnstile jumpers and graffiti vandals who breed a sense of disorder and lawlessness. Not on our watch.”
The mayor’s announcement came a week after The Post reported that cops handed out 7 percent fewer summonses for misdemeanors last year and had shifted focus away from quality-of-life crimes.
With the city caught in the severe national economic storm, Bloomberg’s new initiative included neither extra cops nor much extra spending.
Instead, the mayor assigned criminal-justice coordinator John Feinblatt to compile a list of the 12 worst quality-of-life violators in each borough so prosecutors could pursue maximum penalties against them.
Bloomberg also proposed a new state law that would make a seventh quality-of-life offense committed within a year a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
To battle more serious crimes, Bloomberg said the city would deploy extra cameras in the three police precincts with the highest murder rates.
Most of Bloomberg’s hourlong address was an exercise in balancing today’s harsh reality with an upbeat message that New York would pull through tough economic times, as it always has.
A video preceded the mayor’s speech, with testimonials of how residents persevered through calamities from the Great Depression to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Invoking Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Bloomberg declared, “We have always emerged even stronger than before – together.”
This being an election year, Bloomberg laid out an ambitious agenda to produce 400,000 jobs over the next six years, many through existing public-works programs.
“By the way, it’s also known as the Bloomberg re-election campaign,” joshed Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who introduced the mayor.
One proposal, to reduce or eliminate the unincorporated business tax for 17,000 filers, was immediately applauded by the Freelancers Union, which represents independent workers such as nannies and Web designers.
“It’s about time,” rejoiced Sara Horowitz, the group’s executive director.
In another no-cost move, the mayor disclosed plans to experiment in taxi group riding, which is allowed during emergencies such as a transit strike.
City Comptroller Bill Thompson, one of the top Democrats trying to unseat the mayor in November, said he didn’t hear anything unexpected.
“Obviously, the tone was positive,” Thompson said. “You’re not going to campaign with a down tone.”