So Long Rudy, Hello to Mayor Mike

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday December 31, 2001 01:18 PM EST

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As dictated by tradition, bagpipers will "play" New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani out of his City Hall office on Monday, the last day of his colorful and, at times, contentious 8-year term. The leader, who was named "Time" magazine's Person of the Year last week for his heroic leadership of his city in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, plans to swear in his successor, self-made Republican billionaire Michael Bloomberg, in Times Square immediately after the ball drops at midnight. (Symbolically, the ball has been engraved with the names of those who perished on Sept. 11.) Emma Bloomberg, 22, the elder of the mayor-elect's two daughters, is scheduled to hold the Bible during the ceremony. Then comes the fun stuff: Bloomberg's New Year's Day inauguration festivities at City Hall will feature performances by Bette Midler, who will sing the national anthem, and Wynton Marsalis, who will deliver a musical interlude between speeches, reports New York's Daily News. Hosting the event will be star Mets pitcher Al Leiter. Edward Cardinal Egan will deliver the benediction. And, with that, Bloomberg, 59, will become the city's 108th mayor. On Tuesday, Giuliani, 57, sets off to write his memoirs and try his hand in the business world. On Monday's "Today" show, he said, "I drove myself to work this morning, to make sure I could do it."