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CNN Live Event/Special

Mayor Giuliani's Last Final News Conference

Aired December 31, 2001 - 14:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of saying good-bye, that's what Mayor Rudy Giuliani is doing right now, in his final news conference as mayor.

Let's listen in just a bit.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK: ... doesn't mean you waste money, but you have to be willing to make an investment in public safety.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

GIULIANI: Eight years in one sentence? I have no idea -- Yankee fan. I think that -- New York fan. I think that the achievement that I'm the proudest of for my administration is restoring the spirit of the city, making people in New York believe in being New Yorkers again, and replacing that feeling they used to have with their eyes down, that they wanted to leave here -- 60 percent, 70 percent that wanted to leave the city, people didn't want to come here -- I think I will walk out tonight and turn it over to Mike Bloomberg a different city than the one that was handed to me, and I am very confident he is going to leave it a better city than the one that was handed to him.

And I think in doing that, we've really started something that should continue well into the future.

QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) have you been able to turn that successfully into a private charity, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

GIULIANI: No, that will be done individually by me as a pro bono not-for-profit operation. I will devote my time to that, as just an endeavor of the heart. I feel that I can't walk away from that. The police officers, firefighters, and uniformed officers that died at the World Trade Center were working for me when I was the mayor of New York City, and I always felt, whether it's the police officers or the firefighters, who lost their lives at the Twin Towers or at any time during my administration, a personal responsibility to them and to their families to make sure they were protected. And that's why I want to remain with the Twin Towers charity. And also because a large number of the people who donated a significant percentage of the money have asked me to do that; in fact, they gave me the money on the express representation that I would make sure that the money got into the right hands and didn't get diverted. So, this is a charitable, pro bono operation from my point of view, but it's something I just have to do.

QUESTION: You spent so many of your years as a controversial...

KAGAN: Listening in a little bit to Mayor Giuliani giving his final news conference, the mayor giving a little clue as to one of the things he will spend time on now that he is leaving office. The official transition takes place at midnight, when the new mayor, Mike Bloomberg, takes over.

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