So one thing that I’ve been hearing from a lot of different people, including the mayor, is that we’ve got to give young people a sense of hope, optimism, and vision about the future of this city. And so, we all agree on that. In fact, over the next decade, we’re going to invest $5 billion in just this neighborhood — I’m not kidding you — to build some new schools, for our great new Little League field right there; we’re going to be rebuilding Union Station, fixing it up, and building new shops and restaurants. And we want to do all of that right here in Brooklyn. That’s one of the reasons we want to make sure that the city starts building more middle-class housing. So what the folks on City Council — people like Jumaane Williams, Justin Brannan, and other folks who are just as creative and bold and creative as these guys are — have been saying is that the big, bold vision we need to have is we need to make sure that there are the resources that are not just limited to this one block that’s the footprint of this block. And so, what I want to do is to look at all of our investments in the city of Brooklyn over the next two years. And all these investments are good investments. You talk about jobs and economic development and all those things. I talked about jobs and economic development; I mean, that’s part of my job. This is why I’m doing things that help get us ready for the future of manufacturing jobs, and the high-tech future, and the kind of high-tech research that’s taking place right here in Brooklyn. That’s why I want to keep supporting startups in the New York City region. That’s why we’re moving forward with the new Brooklyn Tech Triangle at Red Hook, including an investment of $100 million in that area — a lot of money. That’s why I’m supporting initiatives like New York Rising, to help get more businesses and small businesses across the city on the internet, and that means jobs, and that means new opportunities. This is one reason why, working with Jumaane, that we want to take our Brooklyn Tech Plan that was laid out last year and make sure that all those investments we make, when we make them in Brooklyn — all of the different programs that help businesses start up or grow; all the new schools that we’re putting in; all the new economic development opportunities — when we put them in place, we want to make sure that we give as many businesses and entrepreneurs and startups as possible in this community every opportunity to succeed. I mean, it’s been a struggle. We’ve had this problem that we’ve had the highest rate of people of color and women starting businesses of any region in the entire United States for three years running — the highest rate. And we want to make sure that our community, and every community, has the opportunity to be able to succeed and thrive and have the kind of future that everyone deserves. That’s why I have committed, in a recent interview with the New York Times, that I am working to develop an agenda for economic justice and for opportunity for every New Yorker. I was criticized in that interview for what people said I didn’t say enough, but what I did say was that the first three days that I had been mayor, I met with my transition team — everybody in my administration who’s not here — and I told them to make sure that the issues that are the most important to people — health care, housing — but when you go to communities and you talk to people, you have to have other discussions. And that’s why, on Day One, I met with community leaders, including young folks; I talked about the fact that we need to build more affordable housing and make sure that people can afford to live in this city. And that’s why I’m looking at how we go forward, as an administration, and help make sure that every New Yorker has the opportunity to have an affordable housing. I talked about jobs and the economy. I talked about transit. I talked about our schools. And I talked about this agenda for economic justice for New Yorkers, making sure that our diversity and our rich community, that those values are a part of everything we do going forward. And I’m committed to continuing that. Jumaane Williams, a candidate for City Council who also had the opportunity to address the group, is no stranger to speaking up for community interests. But he also, I think it’s fair to say, doesn’t do the same on the airwaves as some of his counterparts, as we’ve seen so many times. So I want to make sure I say two things. I know the mayor doesn’t think the media covers him fairly — this is his sixth-month anniversary, I know he thinks the media isn’t talking about his administration fairly. He also thinks that the media is too cozy with the mayor’s office. But if the reason why he thinks the media has been unfair to him is because you don’t ever hear him on the radio, never mind doing a press conference on WBLS, or never mind being in the studio with Ed Lover and Karen Hunter and some of these people to discuss the work that he’s doing and what’s going on, the only reason why that happened is because we invited him. It wasn’t because we invited you. So you have a choice in this. You can either get used to these attacks, and you can do it again every time — as we saw in the last election, that will work for some, right? — or you can decide to have the courage to look at all these issues and talk about what you’re doing, and you can fight back. You can either sit there, as your colleagues do, and act like the things that are happening in the district are not things that they’re going to engage in. You can either do that, or you can stand up to it. But we’re going to keep at it. We’re going to do everything we can to keep at it. And I know he has these big plans to get the conversation going. He has some big plans that are going to come into action tomorrow. And I think it’s fair to say that those plans are going to get executed right here in this community. Last question, sir. Please. MAYOR BLOOMBERG: Thank you, sir. And I would like to congratulate you on the record number of people that are here today. Thanks very much. CORY BOOKER (video): Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you very much. MAYOR BLOOMBERG: I’m not trying to make it up to you, Cory. CORY BOOKER (video): Yeah, no, I’m not making fun of that. I’m really thankful, sir. Thank you. MAYOR BLOOMBERG: And thank you to everyone for being here. I just wanted to say thank you to Ed, who’s one of the best in the country at what he does. You can see why this is, I think, one of the best campaigns in the country. And you know what? I’m going to keep this campaign going, because what we have here is something that’s really special. And we have a situation where you can do something really big, and I’m hopeful that more folks will come down here and see what’s going on. I want to commend all of the candidates on the number of people running and the interest in this process, and making sure that I get my two minutes. But I do want to say, when it comes to the cameras, they have no filter, and they have to be a little careful. When you start running for something as important as this, you have to have somebody look out for your interests, and that’s Ed Lover. He’s done a wonderful job, the rest of the time. You know, I’m also very grateful to the people here. You’ve been, since I’ve been mayor — and I started in ’89; I was here for one year — every day I was in this building. And you’re a lot of what’s made the New York City what it is. It’s also what’s made the city — the neighborhoods where you live — what it’s all about. I look at this and I say, you know, it’s a tough one. But what a great group of candidates you have. And you have some great people running, as well. Candidates are usually not very happy to hear that the mayor thinks they’re unfair to him. But it’s true. He’s a good man, but he’s a bad messenger. And I am surprised by the number of people that show up. Every candidate is at a disadvantage when they’re running in your neighborhood; they do a lot of fundraising, and you can’t have a lot of funding in an election where money comes from individuals and PACs and things like that. You’ve got to do well to get people out to help you and make a difference. That’s why we put on this workshop — so people could know about you, understand what’s going on, and make a difference — so that we’re raising