Dear New Yorkers,  

Somehow July slipped away into August, and the dog days of summer are here. 

Still, the nearly 800 employees in our office are hard at work safeguarding the City’s fiscal health — a group of dedicated, talented New Yorkers including accountants, attorneys, economists, engineers, IT professionals, budget, financial and investment analysts, claim specialists and researchers, and administrative support staff. 

Conducting performance and financial audits of all City agencies comprise one large bucket of our work at the Office of the Comptroller. As the City’s Chief Auditor, I'm required to audit every City agency at least once every four years. To date, my administration has completed 47 audits on 27 City agencies. 

Despite how it might sound, the point of an audit isn’t just to criticize. In fact, some reveal positive examples of good government. 

Case in point: Our latest audit, published last week, analyzes the success of the City University of New York (CUNY)’s College Discovery Program, a nearly 60-year-old program designed to provide support to capable students who might otherwise not be able to attend. 

For generations, CUNY has been the city’s greatest pathway to upward mobility and economic success—and our audit found that Discovery Program is a little bit of support that goes a long way in enabling CUNY students to become the next generation of leaders in our city.  

A small investment in a CUNY student’s education can give big dividends in return. For instance, the retention rate for Discovery Program students across all six colleges in the Fall 2019 cohort exceeded the retention rate for the general student population. Here’s Hostos Community College as an example, and you can read our full audit here: 

On a different note, we also released a new audit report on the bipartisan infrastructure law Congress passed, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This audit reveals that New York State’s use of federal roadway funds overlooks key climate and transportation safety goals in New York City. 

Let’s be clear: IIJA is monumental. But New York State’s lack of performance standards are prioritizing expanded highways, rather than much-needed repairs and safety improvements. Albany should follow New York City’s lead in investing federal funds toward safer and more sustainable transit, with emphasis on local hiring. You can read our full audit on IIJA spending here.  

One of our senior policy analysts, Sindhu Bharadwaj, helped me break down the findings of our new audit and recommendations. Watch our latest video about IIJA spending, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Thanks, 

Brad 

P.S. The Office of the Comptroller’s summer internship program wrapped up this past week! From learning about audits to researching policy and asset management (and everyone's favorite, Excel) they gained meaningful experience across crucial city services. NYC's future sure is bright.