January 7, 1972

Citizens Budget Comm, using figures presented to NYC's Budget Bur by Controller Beame, predicts 8.87% increase in local real estate tax to $6.50 for each $100 of assessed valuation, up from present $5.97, based on estimate of city's debt for '72-73; comm's acting exec dir Dr D Bernstein calls estimated increase 'alarming and astonishing'; NY Real Estate Bd chmn R Tompkins is startled by prediction; owner of home assessed at $15,000 would pay about $80 more in taxes

H Ford 2d, in 1st major defection from ranks of auto establishment, recommends that some of Fed Hwy Fund used to finance nation's freeway system, be diverted to mass transit, news conf; asserts some of fund should be used for study, research and development of mass transit and even experimentation such as 'bldg 1 system'; maintains 1st diversion of funds should be on small scale because transit systems 'have to be viable' and 'can't cost public a fortune'; does not propose exact percentage of fund to be used for mass transit

Mayor Lindsay and NY DA Hogan question NYS Sup Justice Grumet's estimate that city lost $1-billion in Medicaid reimbursements because of its adm of Medicaid program; Hogan contends that Grumet's rept, following 2-yr investigation by grand jury, is 'purely speculative'; rept cites instances of abuse by various venders under program; Mayor Lindsay contends that rept contains evidence of less than $5-million in unauthorized charges with almost $3.5-million of that amt already recovered through regular procedures; NYC Human Resources Admr Sugarman says rept contains 'pol element'

Jan 7: Communists tell US at Paris peace talks that it cannot have its POWs back until US agrees both to withdraw its forces and to abandon the Saigon regime of Pres Nguyen Van Thieu; also say US should 'give up aggression and stop the Vietnamization of the war'; US press spokesman S J Ledogar says Nixon Adm critics like Sen McGovern are correct in saying that question of whether the POWs could be recovered simply by setting a deadline for US troops withdrawal has never been put to the Communist side by the US delegation; says any settlement that calls for a US pullout must also include N Vietnamese withdrawal from S Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

January 7: Ex-Sen McCarthy says he will enter NYS Dem Pres primary, news conf, NYC; says all Dem Pres aspirants 'look like losers'; illus at news conf; says he will campaign on issues of Vietnam, party reform and domestic problems including econ and poverty; says he will probably be involved in primaries in Fla, Wis, Ill, Neb, Calif, Ore, Mass and Penna; says he will not make issue of Mayor Lindsay's record as admr but will make issue of his Vietnam stand; comments on Lindsay's switch to Dem party; scores Sen Muskie for what he claims is his late opposition to Vietnam; his announcement of candidacy is timed to head off likely endorsement of Sen McGovern by NY New Dem Coalition, many of whose members were involved in McCarthy's '68 campaign but have switched to other candidates; McCarthy campaign in NY will be run by P O'Dwyer and Mrs S Kovner; O'Dwyer illus; McCarthy says his campaign differs from those of McGovern and Lindsay because neither has threatened possible 4th-party candidacy if '72 conv is repeat of '68; McCarthy says he is prepared to pull together liberal Dem coalitions to avoid splitting party, s, New Dem Coalition meeting, NYC; says he is prepared to work towards liberal coalition in NYS; Sen Muskie gets endorsement of Nassau County, NY, Chmn Christenfeld and Glen Cove Mayor Di Paolo; Manhattan Boro Pres Sutton backs potential Pres candidacy of Repr Chisholm