New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement following President Barack Obama’s speech at Federal Hall in Manhattan on the state of the nation’s economy one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers:

“Our City has seen one of the worst economic times in recent memory and as a result, tens of thousands of fellow New Yorkers - our friends, family and neighbors - find themselves unemployed.  While our City has surely suffered immensely through this downturn, there have been some faint rays of hope that indicate we may be moving out of this recession and into better days.

Today’s speech by President Obama was inspiring and outlined a clear path of what must take place in order to better address the changing economy, both here in the U.S. and abroad.  His support of shareholder votes on executive compensation, and his conviction that our nation will not return to the practices that led to the financial collapse are welcome signs of change.  

 It is my hope that as we begin to see more federal stimulus funds become available, jobs will be created and unemployment will begin to taper off, placing New York City on the path to recovery.”

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