Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Dinkins Criticizes Bush Urban Policies

Mayor David N. Dinkins slammed President Bush for abandoning the nation’s cities and declared that hard-pressed New York City has no choice but to help itself. In his annual state of the city speech, Dinkins outlined several measures to fight the hard-hit local economy, including speeding up city construction projects to give jobs to unemployed construction workers, paying local contractors more quickly to help their cash flow and reducing licensing requirements to spur small business growth. Dinkins blamed Bush for continuing Ronald Reagan’s policies of drastically cutting back on federal aid to states and cities.