By Phil Orenstein
This is a tribute to Rudy Giuliani, who was named “America’s Mayor” at a 9-11 ceremony. Time Magazine named him “2001 Person of the Year” and the “Mayor of the World” for his heroic leadership to transform New York City into the safest large city in America, and lead the city back from the brink of chaos in the wake of the worst terrorist attack in our country’s history on September 11, 2001. He received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidential Freedom Award from President Ronald Reagan. No one believed it was possible to save our crumbling city, but under Mayor Giuliani’s leadership, New York City was restored as the thriving capital of the world.
New York City was founded in 1624 by Dutch colonists as a trading post on Manhattan Island, and since then, no city administration was as great as that of Mayor Giuliani. The only one who comes close is Mayor La Guardia, and an airport was named after him. New Yorkers should erect a 50-foot statue of Rudy Giuliani, to honor the greatest mayor of the City of New York.
Rudy Giuliani was born in Brooklyn, grandson of Italian immigrants, and attended Bishop Loughlin H.S. in Brooklyn, and NYU Law School. He loved the Yankees and New York City. He was a real New Yorker. In 1983, he was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York by President Reagan, and led an historic effort busting organized crime, drug dealers, and corrupt elected officials, with an unmatched record of over 4000 convictions.
In 1993 Rudy Giuliani was elected Mayor of New York City. He was handed a city that was falling apart under Mayor David Dinkins’ failed leadership, with over 2000 murders a year, infamously known also as the crime capital of America. Hopelessness and despair prevailed. The quality of life was abysmal with squeegee men out in force. Automobile owners posted “No Radio” signs in their car windows. The subways were rife with chronic fare-beaters, aggressive panhandling, and graffiti everywhere. Tourism was dead, housing values plummeting, schools were failing, people were fleeing, and headlines were screaming, “Dave, Do Something!”
Mayor Giuliani came into office and saved New York City, getting violent criminals, knives, and guns off the streets. He first targeted the squeegee men, fare-beaters, vandalism, and minor crimes according to the “broken windows” theory of policing. Under his leadership murder was cut by 67% and overall crime by 56%. The city was known as the capital of welfare, with one in seven New Yorkers hooked on the addictive drug of government dependency. Mayor Giuliani cut welfare rolls by 60% executing the largest and most successful welfare-to-work program in America. Under his leadership, we witnessed the revival of the Theater District and Times Square, the resurgence of the finance industry and “Silicon Alley,” leading to a decade of booming real estate values, exploding tourism, and corporations rushing back to relocate their headquarters here. The city was thriving again – the subways were safe, the streets and the city parks were safe, and people were out enjoying life in the Big Apple day and night. Homes went for millions of dollars in Astoria, Bed–Stuy, Middle Village, Bellerose, and other once poor and middle class neighborhoods, all thanks to Mayor Giuliani. All that’s good and prosperous in the city today is because of Rudy Giuliani, who brought us into the Golden Age of New York City.
The principles of leadership that Mayor Giuliani utilized in the transformation of New York City, are all laid out in the book he authored, “Leadership,” which can be applied to any organization large or small. According to Giuliani, leadership is a privilege, but it also carries weighty responsibilities, and leaders must be accountable for the results of their decisions, plans, and actions. CompStat is one such tool that led to the turnaround, which held precinct commanders accountable for the crime data results. A good leader is guided by an idea – a belief in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, and works tirelessly to make it better, to “form a more perfect union,” and pursues the mission religiously.
Fast forward to the present. Instead of celebrating a man who has done everything for America and New York City, a weaponized legal system is intent on bankrupting and silencing Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s former attorney, because of his steadfastness and loyalty, and being faithful to the truth about the fraudulent 2020 presidential election. Now Giuliani faces bankruptcy, sanctions, and possible imprisonment in a $148 million defamation case against him. In the name of partisan politics, they drained him of nearly all his possessions, threatening to freeze his social security, and take away his right to free speech. The law license of the most effective prosecutor in the history of our country has been suspended and the greatest guardian of the law has been disbarred by the New York State Bar Association.
We know there were problems with the 2020 presidential election. There’s no way Biden could have gotten 7 million more votes than Trump. But if you say anything about it, you’re toast, and they’re using lawfare to destroy a man who spoke his mind. Whether you agree with him or not, he has the right to free speech. The crooked partisan lawyers in the New York State Bar Association, who took away his law license, should all go back to law school and take a refresher course in the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment, which protects freedoms of religion, speech, press, and assembly.
We are proud to announce that Rudy Giuliani will be the keynote speaker at the 150th Anniversary Lincoln Dinner, hosted by the Queens Village Republican Club, America’s oldest Republican Club. The Patriotic Gala will be taking place on March 2, 2025 at Antun’s of Queens Village, where nearly every New York Governor, New York City Mayor, and President of the United States has been in attendance since the 1950s. It will be a magnificent celebration to honor one of the greatest American patriots of all time.
We stand in solidarity with Rudy Giuliani, one of the greatest Americans, who is persecuted for valiantly standing up for President Trump and the truth. His enemies will never destroy him, as he declares: “truth, justice and the fight for freedom are worth infinitely more than our earthly possessions. They are the heavenly treasures… that cannot be stolen and will never rust, decay or lose their values.”
If you feel this is a fitting tribute, and wish to express your thanks for what Rudy Giuliani has done for New York City, for America, and for President Trump, you need to come to the 150th Anniversary Lincoln Dinner, to honor and celebrate America’s Mayor, and the “Mayor of the World,” Rudy Giuliani.
Phil Orenstein is president of the Queens Village Republican Club
