Spitzer Addresses Queens Chamber At Luncheon
BY THOMAS COGAN

Last Thursday, May 18, Eliot Spitzer deftly established his awareness of his surroundings.

At that time, the man who seeks the Democratic nomination for governor of New York state delivered an address in the heart of Queens, at the Queens Business Day Expo and Luncheon of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, which was celebrating its 95th anniversary. While it's true that he is a native of New York City, Spitzer is not from Queens; but no matter, because he addressed those borough merchants as if he had sprung from them.

The Queens economy, he began, is not in need of revival, because it is continuing. The wonder of the New York economy, he continued, "is not Fifth Avenue or Park Avenue but Queens"-where groups spanning an amazing range of ethnicity ply their trades and keep the money exchange going. He predicted faster population growth in Queens than in any other part of the city in the next 15 years. This would be especially beneficial if Queens is as ahead of the enterprise curve, as Spitzer suggested it is. Enterprise, he said, is blooming in all parts of the world, but is America at large contributing to it as it should? He read some engineering statistics that suggested the American situation should be better than it is. He said there were 600,000 engineering graduates in the higher learning institutes of China in 2005 and 350,000 in India, while the United States could produce only 70,000. He urged those who haven't read Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat to do so to realize that the situation of 30 years ago, with America as the center of enterprise, no longer obtains-enterprise is everywhere. Many figures in this state fail to duplicate his awareness of Queens' importance, he said, but that would change should he return to Albany, where he is now the state attorney general, as governor. Among other things, he would promote the enterprise shown by women and minorities, in Queens and elsewhere in the state. "If we don't promote that, we are neglectful," he said.

He is determined that politics should "shake off the lassitude of the last decade in Albany" and reawaken public spirit. He recalled onetime Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, and while he quickly deplored the monolithic power that Moses acquired over many decades, he still hailed Moses' accomplishments, saying in reference to the city and state infrastructure that "at least he got it built". These days, he said, we can see a pattern of stalling and extending the time needed to make decisions until it is apparent that decisions are just what these agents of lassitude believe must be avoided. Instead of that, he said, we must decide, among other things, to build an East Side commuter access route; straighten out the manifold problems, from access to security, at JFK Airport; improve bus rapid transit, and apply intelligent land use in Queens. Among land use projects in Queens, he expressed approval of Queens West and the many proposed residential sites along the East River. As for Willets Point, a better effort has to be shown than has been shown so far, but such projects as the new Mets baseball park and a convention center should be realized. In a last reference to the borough, as his brief address came to an end, Spitzer praised Assemblymember Mark Weprin of Flushing.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall made the closing remarks. She said the Queens Chamber of Commerce was chartered May 12, 1911, so it was 95 years old by less than a week at the time of the luncheon. The borough president again expressed her delight that the conference center in Willets Point appears headed for construction.