Bloomberg Will Take U.N. Cash

Is it any surprise that money speaks to Mayor Bloomberg? During his radio hour with John Gambling on WABC, Mayor B said that in spite of the hassle - and vitriol - that the United Nations generates (diplomats' reckless driving! world leaders calling the President a devil! gridlock!), they do bring a lot of money to the city:"This is a good business for us. What is said in the UN, I find most of it to be despicable. But whether they say it here or in Bonn, Germany, doesn't change that. Why have the Germans make all of the money off it?"Yeah! Don't let those stinkin' Europeans get money we could be hording! The Mayor's remarks come as some who were reeling from Hugo Chavez's dramatic speech question whether the U.N. should stay. The Daily News has a quote from State Senator Martin Golden who says, "We could rent that space out in a heartbeat. I have no problem hosting the UN, but we shouldn't be putting out the red carpet for people to beat up on us - no matter how much business it accounts for." Ooh, the Secretariat as a rental building? That would be sweet - firetrap or not!

Of course, it's unlikely that NYC will boot the U.N. any time soon - they bring in $2.5 billion to the city's economy.

Photograph of the U.N. Building from Kieranpmoore via Contribute