A final sales pitch

Hil arrives to join N.Y.'s Olympic team

By MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

SINGAPORE - With one day left before the International Olympic Committee picks the 2012 host city, Sen. Hillary Clinton arrived here today in a burst of star power aimed at propelling New York's quest for Olympic gold.

"New York City exemplifies Olympic values every single day - living in New York is like living in an Olympic village," declared Clinton during a packed news conference this morning.

"It's almost hard to imagine that for the entire history of the Olympics, New York City has never hosted the Olympics," Clinton said. "We have lived the Olympics. Now, I'd like for us to have the chance to host the Olympics."

Among the five finalist cities, New York and Madrid are the only ones never to host the Games. Paris was the host in 1900 and 1924, London in 1908 and 1948 and Moscow in 1980. This morning, as expected, the International Olympic Committee's executive board officially gave the green light to New York's alternative proposal for an Olympic stadium in Queens. Last month, after a state board rejected the proposed $1.9 billion West Side stadium, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled plans to build a new stadium for the Mets that will be converted to an Olympic stadium if New York wins the Games.

"The conclusion of the evaluation commission's study of New York's revised proposal was that it's feasible," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies told the Daily News.

Bloomberg, who had breakfast with Clinton this morning, boasted, "Now we have brought in the A team."

Later in the day, Bloomberg will greet Muhammad Ali, who wowed the world when he lit the Olympic cauldron at the Atlanta Games nine years ago. Ali is heading the city's athlete delegation here.

During her remarks this morning, Clinton noted New York is seeking the Games so soon after 9/11.

"We're standing here a little less than four years from the time when we were attacked and we're telling you that New York City is the place to bring the 2012 Olympics because the people of New York are resilient," she said.

Bloomberg and the city's top bid officials spent their July 4 meeting with IOC members and rehearsing their final presentation, which was expected to stress New York's diversity. All five bid cities will have 45 minutes tomorrow to deliver a final presentation, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session. At the end of the day, the IOC will award one of the cities the Games by secret ballot.

"We are going to emphasize our strengths. And our greatest strength is New York City and what New York City can offer the Olympic movement," said bid founder Daniel Doctoroff, referring to the city's diverse population and its status as the world capital of media and finance.

The presentation will include a video clip with celebrities including comedian Billy Crystal. President Bush, who will be celebrating his birthday tomorrow, also will appear by video.