Message: I Care

There is now a post-Katrina response to nearly everything, including the worldwide economy:

The banking crisis that gripped Wall Street this weekend is sending a shudder through City Hall. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and his top deputies plan to gather this morning to assess the potential economic fallout from the liquidation of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch, which together employee 85,000 people, many of them in New York City.

Mr. Bloomberg was worried enough about the situation that he canceled a high-profile trip to California, where he was to meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today.

The mayor’s biggest challenge: how to deal with thousands of likely layoffs over the next few weeks, and the resulting loss of tax revenue on personal income, corporate profits and real-estate transactions. If Lehman, which employees 25,000, files for bankruptcy, as expected, most of its employees could lose their jobs. And once Merrill is sold, to Bank of America, the new owner is expected to cut many workers to avoid overlap. Merrill employs 60,000.

Wall Street firms — and their wealthy employees — account for about one fourth of the city’s personal income and 10 percent of the taxes — so as Wall Street goes, so goes the city’s economy.