New York, NY —

Fernando Ferrer finally got his chance to debate Mayor Michael Bloomberg face to face yesterday morning. In a largely substantive one-hour exchange, the Democrat criticized the Mayor for not doing enough to create a livable city for what he called "ordinary New Yorkers." WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein has more.

VOLUNTEERS: We want Mike! We want Mike! Freddy! Freddy! Our votes are not for sale!

REPORTER: Outside the Channel 7 studios on the upper west side first thing Sunday morning, volunteers were out in force. But inside Bloomberg and Ferrer stood at podiums facing a nearly non-existent studio audience.

REPORTER: Ferrer’s been outspent ten to one this campaign, and so he took every opportunity he could in the debate to argue that Mike Bloomberg’s New York is a New York for the rich. Early on, here’s how answered a question about the financial package offered to Goldman Sachs to build a new headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

FERRER: There isn’t a better illustration of the two New Yorks than that deal. In the Bronx, Xiomara Mejía lives in a hovel. If she’s late on her rent one month she’s out on the street, but she’s been waiting two years for the city of to force her landlord to make repairs. By contrast we can’t do enough to get Goldman Sachs from midtown, back to Lower Manhattan with a Kings Ransom of 1.7 billion dollars in tax abatements.

REPORTER: Ferrer has returned to his 2001 theme of two New Yorks in recent days, hoping to galvanize those who feel shut out of what he calls “Michael Bloomberg’s New York.” When the Mayor talked about rising fourth grade reading scores, Ferrer said the Mayor was ignoring the bigger problem.

FERRER: I’ll end that drop out crisis, and we’ve got to end that. Look I’m not running to be the mayor of the fourth grade, I’m running to be the mayor of all the grades.

BLOOMBERG: Let’s take a look at the numbers Freddy. You have the right to your opinions but not your own facts here. In the Bronx, the graduation rate has gone from 48 percent to 52 percent. In the city as a hole after decades of doing nothing it’s gone from 50 to 54.But what do those numbers mean? Take a look. 16 percent drop out in the first four years, 54 percent graduate, That’s 70 percent, what happens to the other 30 percent, some go to other schools, some go to army, some get degrees in 5, 6 or 7 years.

REPORTER: The Mayor never missed a chance to correct Ferrer’s numbers – on the size of the schools budget, for example.

BLOOMBERG: I’ll also point out that if I read - if I watch the ads, Freddy’s proposed 12 billion dollars in extra spending and 6 billion dollars in tax increases and he isn’t even elected.

REPORTER: The lion’s share of that spending comes from Ferrer’s 8.5 billion dollar plan to build 168,000 units of affordable housing, which the Mayor recently announced he’d match. Ferrer would pay for his plan, in part, by increasing tax rates on vacant land and eliminating tax breaks for developers of luxury housing. The Mayor says he’d pay for his housing plan with “costs savings” and “existing state funds.”

The Mayor had most trouble defending himself when it came to talk of the national Republican party.

FERRER: Lets talk about Mike Bloomberg’s support of the party and the president whose policies have hurt this city

BLOOMBERG: Not this policy, I didn’t.

REPORTER: The policy they were talking about was gun control.

BLOOMBERG: I’m going to go and fight for this city, Freddy and I can’t have everybody in Washington vote for everything I’d like, I wish they would but they don’t.

FERRER: You don’t have to support them Mike and you know what, you could do this city a big favor by putting your checkbook away.

BLOOMBERG: Okay.

REPORTER: After the debate, the Mayor was asked about that last “okay.”

BLOOMBERG: Look I didn’t say okay in that context. I gave more money to Bill Clinton when he was running for office than I gave to George Bush, the big amount of money I gave was to a non partisan thing, the host committee.

REPORTER: According to campaign finance records, the Mayor’s biggest contribution-- some 7 million dollars -- was to the committee hosting the Republican National Convention here last year. He gave Bill Clinton’s campaign a total of $2,000 over eight years, and nothing to Bush-Cheney. But he did give $250,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2002, in recent years he’s given hundreds of thousands more to New York Republicans.

Ferrer and Bloomberg debate again tomorrow night.For WNYC, I’m Andrea Bernstein.

Tuesday’s debate can be heard live on WNYC AM 820 at 7 pm.