NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) March 9, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-minus rating to New York City's $700 million GO bonds series 1999H due March 15, 2029. The bonds are scheduled to sell March 10, 1999. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings on the city's outstanding GO debt (see list below). The rating reflects: -- Improved financial performance as demonstrated by repeated budget surpluses, restrained expenditure growth, and progress in reducing out-year gaps. In addition, the city has started to experience an increase in property tax revenues and has limited its use of nonrecurring revenues. The rating anticipates that the city will continue to progress toward balancing ongoing revenue and expenditures while maintaining its use