GIULIANI DETAILS DRUG STRATEGY

NEW YORK Mayor Rudolph Giuliani took the unusual step Wednesday of
carefully detailing the progress of his new antidrug strategy, appearing
eager to show that the proposals that he announced during his reelection
campaign represented more than just an expedient attempt to woo voters.

In a speech to administration and police officials at City Hall, Giuliani
gave a pointbypoint review of the strategy, which is to cost more than
$80 million and is a cornerstone of his agenda for his second term. He
described the administration's efforts to deploy more police officers
against drug dealing, clear parks of drug sales, increase the size of
treatment programs, set up a telephone line to report drug activity and
mount antidrug advertisements.

Giuliani did not present new proposals and he does not normally give major
speeches on the status of an initiative less than three months after
presenting it. But because he has staked his reputation on the strategy, he
seemed intent on disproving any doubts about whether he would stick with it
now that he has won reelection.

The success of the strategy would also burnish Giuliani's national profile
at a time when he is considering his plans for the future; under term
limits, Giuliani is barred from seeking a third term.

"Whenever anything is announced in the middle of a political campaign,
people believe it, and they half believe it and they half don't believe it,
and they think that it's public relations," Giuliani said. He later added,
"This is very much for real."

As he has in the past, Giuliani linked drugs to many of the city's
problems, from street crime to child abuse. "If we can make a real impact
here, then we can have a much healthier city," he said.

In outlining the progress of the strategy, Giuliani noted that the police
had declared six more parks drugfree zones, placing them off limits to
people convicted of selling drugs.

The police had already adopted such a policy in Washington Square Park in
Greenwich Village, which has long been notorious for drug dealing.

The city has expanded the number of schools where the police have deployed
extra officers to crack down on drug sales and is financing several new
beacon schools, thanks to money recently appropriated by the City Council.
Beacon schools feature afterschool programs and other activities, allowing
neighborhoods to use them as if they were community centers.

Giuliani unveiled new advertisements that publicize an antidrug hot line
started by the Police Department, (888) 374DRUG. And he said the city was
starting another hot line for people seeking drug treatment, (800) LIFENET.

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