After listening to the governor's plan for New York City, is there any doubt now that he is out of touch with the people he was elected to serve?

Did you ever think that you would see the day when a governor would choose slot machines over pre-K for our precious four-year-olds?

The governor's plan is more than unrealistic, his plan is an insult to working parents throughout the City of New York.

There is absolutely nothing his plan that addresses restorations to the cuts in education, higher education, and health care that are proposed in his budget. His plan is silent on these issues.

He continues to punish school children.

He continues to punish working families of New York.

He continues to punish teachers and health care workers.

He continues to punish hospitals and businesses.

His plan is out of touch. The governor just doesn't get it.

He is not providing the leadership that will help New York City overcome its current fiscal crisis.

On April 8th, the governor finally had a meeting with business leaders in New York City and acknowledged that the City had a problem.

He went so far as to tell them not to release a letter addressing his budget, and that he would come up with a plan for the City of New York in three weeks.

Four weeks later, the Legislature acted on a bipartisan legislative package to help the City of New York in addition to a bipartisan legislative package for a budget for the entire State of New York, of which the City is a part.

Today, the day before he will announce that he is going to release his vetoes of the Legislature bipartisan budget agreement, he comes out with what he calls a plan for the City of New York.

Some might say better late than never, but then you realize that he's paying for one slot machine per every three four-year-olds he's kicking out of pre-K. Then you realize what a waste of time this plan is, and just how out-of-touch with the needs of the City this governor has become.

Let me tell you something else, I didn't like his tobacco bonds proposal.

Still, we tried to work with him. We modified it and we put out a plan that is better for New Yorkers; that protects our fragile health care system.

I didn't like the governor's plan to refinance the MAC debt.

Still we worked with him. We modified it. Now he's changing his mind about the MAC proposal that we passed (an idea he originally proposed to the Legislature); just like he did when he proposed the one-and-a-quarter-percent increase in the sales tax.

Earlier this year, he traveled around this state promising no taxes. Now in his plan, he creates a new tax on co-ops and a new mortgage recording tax.

Let me tell you something about a mortgage recording tax on co-ops, and maybe you can listen to the governor. There are no mortgages on co-ops. Co-ops are financed by a pledge of stock.

Whether you own shares in a building that is represented by an apartment, or you own shares in a company, they're financed in the same way. It's the same system. It's filed as a personal property recorded as a secured interest. It is not a mortgage.

The governor's plan for the City is nothing more than gimmicks. It's just out-of-touch.

It could have been better.

He could have worked with the Mayor. He could have worked with the City Council. He could have worked with either house of the Legislature.

Instead, he chose to go it totally alone, and he's handing us a mess.

You know, it's interesting. So far, the only thing we've seen - and we saw it just when you saw it - is a press release. There's no legislation that he's sent to the Legislature.

This on the eve of his deadline to veto the bipartisan budget that was sent to him more than a week and a half ago.

This is his response: a press release!

I suggest to you that he's not leading New York. He can't lead New York. And he's won't provide the leadership that New Yorkers need right now.