Two days after calling the state budget deal �an outrage,� Mayor Michael Bloomberg was much more conciliatory towards Albany lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday in the Bronx, the mayor seemed eager to turn the conversation toward the cuts contained in the state budget. In the middle of responding to a question about an alleged hate crime, he started talking about city services in an era of austerity.

�We�re going to have to find ways to do medical examinations, to fight hate crime with less money. We�ve got some tough times going forward here,� Bloomberg said. �We�ve got a governor who I�m a big supporter of. I think he�s doing a great job.�

The governor �has to cut the budget, the state budget. We�re going to have to deal with that,� Bloomberg continued. �And he�s I think going to help us find ways to reduce our expenses that don�t cost the state money.� The mayor outlined one way Albany could do just that � by relaxing state-mandated spending requirements � in an op-ed published Wednesday.

Bloomberg went on to praise Cuomo again, saying he�s up to the task of making hard, unpopular decisions. Any perceived rift, Bloomberg suggested, comes only from their slightly different objectives.

�Everybody wants to pick a fight, but there�s no fight with the governor. He�s got to do what he�s got to do for the state. I�ve got to do what I�ve got to do for the city,� Bloomberg said. �We�re both going to express ourselves. And in the end we need his help to help us balance our budget.�

Bloomberg continued: �He cannot give us more money. He�s got to give us less money. I�m sympathetic to that.�

(Source: WSJ)