It must be election time in the big apple

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is on the pork barrel trail in the lead-up to the November 8 city elections.

Bloomberg kicked off a busy meet-the-people Saturday with a photo op at St Alban's Park, Queens, which he announced would receive $1.5 million of city funding for the building of a dedicated cricket ground. It will only be the second specialist cricket venue in contemporary New York.

Here's the official press release from the Mayor's office, which also provides links to a 14-minute video of the announcement. News reports from NY Newsday and Hardbeatnews.com.

It's worth noting that on Monday, Bloomberg announced a $6 million redevelopment in Staten Island to create a complex including four soccer fields.

And while we're on the subject of photo-ops, here's His Bloomness playing stickball at the annual NYPD versus FDNY game.

Bloomberg is the only Republican Party nomination for Mayor and thus doesn't have to endure a Primary election on September 15, unlike almost everyone else running for public office in NYC.