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Queens Courier, September 19, 2001
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| Mayor Rudy has
received his measure of praise and criticism during his eight-year reign
over Gotham City, but his actions under the harrowing circumstances since
Sept. 11 won over even the harshest critics. Even Senator Hillary
kissed—well, at least hugged—and made up with the Mayor who was to be
her chief opponent in the last year’s election until prostate cancer
sidelined him. New Yorkers, their sense of humor slowly returning, are
saying if Giuliani ran for President now, he would be the first Republican
to win the state in a landslide.
For now, however, one of the strongest business groups in the City, supported by some State Assembly members, is lobbying to have Giuliani retain his mayoral seat for a while longer rather than going for a presidential one. Heskel Elias, head of the Forest Hills-based Heskel Group, a business conglomerate mainly dealing with real estate development, has begun an active e-mail and fax campaign to city and state elected officials urging them to come up with an emergency legislation that would postpone the elections by as much as one year. "We have a good precedent—FDR during World War II," Elias told The Queens Courier last Friday, referring to Roosevelt’s three-term presidency. "We’re looking to maintain the structure the way it is," he added. "None of the new candidates for the office [of Mayor] are as qualified and connected, or possess the kind of tenacity that Giuliani has and that is sorely needed in the present crisis." Elias added that Giuliani’s strong relationships with President Bush and Governor Pataki would ensure the City receiving the kind of financial and other support that it would need to recover from the devastating blow it suffered on Black Tuesday. His background as a district attorney and his "cop mentality" also would go a long way to make sure that the City does not plunge back into the cycle of violence and crime, especially hate crime, from which it emerged in the last decade of the past century. "Economic recovery is our main concern," Elias said. "It will serve as the foundation for the overall recovery of the City. And who is better to convince businesses to stay in New York and to provide them with the incentives to do so than Giuliani?" Elias said the almost nonexistent crime since the WTC tragedy should be attributed not only to the solidarity people express but also to Giuliani’s tough stance on crime. "You have 10 million people who respect each other and respect the Mayor," Elias said. "Sure, some of that respect comes from fear, but it is a healthy fear, one that prevents people from doing stupid things." In addition to seeing Rudy as the best person for the job at the present time, Elias is worried about the integrity of the primaries taking place so soon after such a major tragedy. "People are still in shock," Elias said. "Many of them would say, ‘Elections, are you kidding?" and stay home. A determined community that would come out in force to vote can probably elect a mayor or borough president all by themselves." According to Elias, doing so could spell disaster for the City that is trying hard to climb out of the chaos of the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history. "Do you really think the first concern of these guys [the newly elected officials] would be to take care of the relief effort and the rebuilding process?" Elias asked. "They would have to begin with establishing offices, buying furniture, hiring secretaries, going out into communities to find out who the important people are. "What we need is continuance. You don’t change a driver in mid-trip, without stopping a car." Adding to the uncertainty that newly elected candidates would create, Elias said, is their-at times-shameless use of the disaster to score points with the voters. "We don’t want anyone getting brownie points for digging the ground down there [at the site of the WTC disaster]. I’ve seen plenty of them taking photo opts, it’s disgusting," Elias said, although he declined to name names. Elias stressed the importance of rebuilding the City to the economic well being of the country. "New York City is the economic hub of the nation and economic capital of the world," Elias said. "If these towers stood somewhere in Boise, Idaho, and got knocked down, it would not have the same impact. It’d be devastating, economically, to the country and the city not to rebuild." Elias said a number of Assembly members support the initiative and are ready to introduce the emergency bill in the Assembly when the subject receives more exposure. He declined to disclose specific names, saying the lawmakers did not want it to appear as pushing a political agenda. "This issue spans all parties and party issues," Elias said. "It has to do with the recovery of our City, not keeping a Republican in office past his term limits." This is why, according to Elias, it is Democrats "like Sheldon Silver," the Speaker of the Assembly, that should push the legislation rather than Republicans or the Mayor himself. Asked whether he considered the possibility of Giuliani turning down the offer to stay Mayor for an extra year, Elias said that the City and state officials should appeal to his sense of duty. "If approached in a correct way and asked in a correct way, I believe he won’t turn this down," Elias said. When the campaign began, Elias said, the biggest challenge was getting the message out, with all the TV and radio channels choked with breaking news on the disaster and the quickly unfolding investigation. Lately, however, the Heskel Group received exposure on New York 1 TV, and 1010 WINS radio conducted interviews with people on the street asking their opinions on the matter. The group also is planning to hire legal counsel to see whether their case has merit in a court of law. If the election date is not changed, Elias said, the group is considering suing the state of New York and putting an injunction on the election basing it on people’s inability to vote under the present conditions. Getting the message out is not the only hurdle the group faces. It is highly doubtful that the majority of city and state politicians, not to mention the mayoral candidates themselves, will respond favorably to disrupting the political inertia. That sentiment was underscored by John Melia, press secretary for Bronx Borough President and one of the mayoral hopefuls Fernando Ferrer. "We won’t let it happen," Melia said about the possibility of the emergency legislature being introduced. "From what I hear and read, nobody—not the City Council, the Assembly, the Speaker—supports this initiative." Back to Press
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