There is no point in me worrying about what Bloomberg or Badillo will do.

My mother came here to New York. She and my grandmother were domestics, cooking, cleaning for other people.

Well, I was about six or seven, and my mother and father separated.

You can't twist Al Sharpton's arm.

Some of us claim that New York City is the capital of the country, indeed the capital of the world. Now, that may be a bit much for those who don't come from New York, but clearly we are an important city for reasons of our cultural advantages.

Today, certain people file for bankruptcy, businesses and individuals, and it no longer has the stigma it once had. Now it's almost considered wise, a way to regroup and come back again.

We borrowed money, it helped us with bonds and what not, and the Federal Government backed it, but it was a guarantee, it was not a grant. And we not only paid it off, but we paid it off ahead of time.