BY KELLIE TABRONPHOTOGRAPHS

BY DORA CZOVEKAND CHRISTINA LEE

of fell into PR," he says.Benitez stayed with that firmfor eight years, including fouryears during which he com-pleted his education at Ba-ruch College. "It wasn't whatI planned to do [PR], but onceI started learning about it,I got hooked," he says.

So how do this Washing-ton Heights native and hisNYC2012 colleagues plan toconvince more than eight mil-lion big city residents thatNew York City needs anOlympic Games? With lotsof hard work.

L ong before any OlympicGames are held, a com-petition just as intense

as any of the sporting events isbeing staged among citiesvying to host the Games. Inthis competition, the key play-ers are not dedicated athleteswith dreams of gold medals,but whole organizations dedi-cated to promoting the causeof their host cities.

In New York, that organiza-tion is NYC2012, and one ofthe key players in its cam-paign to bring the Gamesto New York City is self-

described sports junkie,Lazaro Benitez. As managerof media relations forNYC2012, Benitez, at firstglance, appears to be a sur-prising choice. The in-your-face, buy-my-product stereo-type often associated with apublic relations executive isreplaced with a laid back pitchthat is direct but polite and

respectful.Benitez began his career

in public relations in highschool, after landing a highschool internship with Edel-man Public Relations. "! sort

DOLLARS & SENSE I MAY 2004

,«S{S ) I

public relations efforts, includ-ing forbidding its membersfrom visiting bid cities dur-ing the selection process. Fur-thermore, according to theIOC's Web site and its Rulesof Conduct, potential hostcities are restricted from di-rectly contacting IOC mem-bers or proactively approach-ing members of the intema-

"This job is the most chal-lenging I've ever had:' Benitezsays.

An average day lasts16-to-18 hours. He beginsearly, catching up on Olym-pics-related news, includingstories relating to the Inter-national Olympic Committee(lac) and competing cities'plans and progress. "I readabout 12 hard-copy papers

own merits," he says. "There'snothing to be gained by dis-paraging the competition. Wefocus on espousing the plusesof our own plan."

Like any good political cam-paign, NYC2012 has specificmessages it vvants to get out,not the least of vvhich is that,despite the scandals surround-ing the 2002 Salt Lake City

each morning and scan 20 or30 others on the Web," saysBenitez.

"While our main fo-cus is our own plan, we alsoneed to know what othernews is out there."

In addition to their morningimmersion in the news, Ben-itez and his colleagues alsospend their day talking toreporters, returning hundredsof phone calls, writing pressreleases and setting up, publi-cizing and attending eventsthroughout the city. Theywork to get reporters to attendevents, cultivating those inter-personal relationships that,according to Benitez, are veryimportant in the publicitygame. "It's more like a politi-cal campaign than anythingelse," he says. But Benitez saysNYC2012's policy is to avoidbashing the competition. "Ourmantra is whoever wins thisrace will win based on their

Winter Garnes, the U.S. is stilla viable venue to host anOlympic Garnes. In the lead-up to the Salt Lake CityGarnes, 13 Olympic officialswere accused of acceptingbribes from Salt Lake organiz-ers in exchange for votesfavoring the Utah city to hostthe Olympic Garnes. Four lacmembers and two top SaltLake City Olympic committeeofficials, President and CEOFrank Joklik and Vice Pres-ident David Johnson, resignedin the scandal. Afterward, thelac underwent a massive re-organization, and the U.S. Jus-tice Department launched aprobe against the USOC.

As a result of the scandal,the lac had to focus both ongetting rid of its reputation asa haute fraternity of freeload-ers seeking kickbacks and lav- iish hotel stays, and on puttinglimits upon bidding cities'"

DOLLARS & SENSE / MAY 2004

tional press, except duringdesignated times. From nowuntil about six months beforethe 2012 Games host city isdecided in 2005, the only wayNYC2012 can interact with theforeign media is if a memberof the foreign press approach-es them directly.

To counteract the lac rules,NYC2012' s strategy has beento reach out to the 200-0r-sodaily and weekly newspapersthat serve New York's variousethnic communities.

"While a paper may besmall in terms of notorietyhere in New York, it is likely tobe read by the core ethnicgroup here in the city," saysBenitez. "Chances are they callback home to speak with fam-ily, and the word gets outabo~t what we're doing."

NYC2012 also targets the126 lac members who ulti-mately will cast the final

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The representatives fromthese offices, while not offi-cially members of the 2012staff, are mouthpieces forthe city's bid, in terms ofthe benefits a New York CityOlympics can bring to the city,the state and its residents.

The fact that Doctoroff isnow a member of the Bloom-berg administration doesn'thurt the NYC2012 effort. Infact, according to Benitez, itmakes the communicationflow between NYC2012 andthe mayor's office muchsmoother. Bloomberg's ad-ministration has proven to bea vocal supporter of Doctor-off and NYC2012's efforts. Ina Dec. 28, 2001 press releaseannouncing Doctoroff's ap-pointment as deputy mayor,Bloomberg lauded his efforts

to bring the Games to NewYork, saying, "He has con-ceived of and led the devel-opment of the city's Olympicbid, which has generatedenormous support and en-thusiasm across all segmentsof the city. The vision of aNew York Olympic Gameshas inspired New Yorkersabout our future."

Benitez says he also needspublic support for the Games.To build this support,NYC2012 has established apresence at various eventsaround the city, including theNew York City Marathon anda number of ethnic parades,setting up booths with mar-keting information, distribut-ing posters and fliers and hav-ing staff members and volun-teers to answer questions.

Despite all their efforts,NYC2012 does not lack foes.Among the biggest concernsare that the Games wouldcreate gridlock of unprece-dented proportions. After all,say critics, a single sportingevent like a New York Knicksgame can create a trafficnightmare, clogging road-ways from river to river.

The NYC2012 plan address-es traffic concerns with the"Olympic X" plan. The plan,which won The Municipal ArtSociety's Masterwork Awardfor Best Urban Design orPlanning Concept in 2002,places all the competition ven-ues along two intersectingwater and rail axes.

The plan calls for high-speed ferryboats to deliverathletes to the venues. Special

DOLLARS & SENSE / MAY 2004