No. 91 - July 9, 2024
New York by the Numbers
Monthly Economic and Fiscal Outlook
READ MORE [[link removed]]
Photo Credit: John McAdorey/Shutterstock
A Message from the Comptroller
Dear New Yorkers,
I hope your 4th of July holiday weekend was a good chance to get started on your summer beach reading! In case that didn’t include reading New York City’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget agreement, we’ve got a summary here (and we’ll have a deeper dive next month). Thanks to City Council leadership and broad public outcry, the agreement restores critical funding to our public libraries and cultural institutions that the Mayor had proposed to cut, and it adds significant new funding for affordable housing.
Unfortunately, this budget—and the process that Mayor Adams followed to advance it—still fails to provide the long-term fiscal responsibility, transparency, and future-focused investments in that our city’s future demands. Neither the Mayor’s budget, nor his hastily convened Charter Revision Commission, take steps to establish clear policies for the City’s Rainy Day Fund, get control of claims against the City (which cost over $1 billion annually), provide transparency into whether proposed efficiencies are actually realized, or pay the City’s vendors on time — steps we called for in “ A Stronger Fiscal Framework for NYC [[link removed]] .”
While the Administration made modest inroads in funding chronically under-budgeted items, the financial plan continues the longstanding tradition of underfunding known expenses, underestimating fiscal gaps, and clouding the City’s financial picture. Making cuts early in the budget cycle, only to restore them at the end, without looking at longer term savings and efficiencies, does not provide the strong fiscal framework we need. And while the Council secured significant restorations for early childhood programs, the agreement fails to fully fund universal 3K and PreK. CUNY, the city’s best vehicle for upward social mobility, has been hit with over $75 million in annual budgets cuts during this administration.
Our Spotlight this month — July is Disability Pride Month — looks at disability and employment in NYC. We find that the percentage of working-age New Yorkers with a disability increased during the pandemic, possibly as a result of long Covid. While remote work offers the possibility of increased opportunities for people with disabilities, we have such a long way to go to achieve the vision of the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed 34 years ago this month.
Removing barriers to work is critical for the 7.6% of working-age New Yorkers with a disability… and generates better workplaces for all of us.
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Brad Lander
Table of Contents
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The
U.S.
Economy
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New
York
City
Economy
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City
Finances
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View the July Newsletter [[link removed]]
Spotlight
Disability and Employment in NYC
July is Disability Pride Month, marking the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in July 1990. For our Spotlight this month, we dig into the data to examine how New Yorkers with disabilities are faring in the workplace, and how that was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
View the Spotlight [[link removed]]
In Case You Missed It
Over the past month, the Office of Comptroller released the following announcements on the state of NYC’s economy and finances:
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Statement
from
NYC
Comptroller
Brad
Lander
on
the
FY25
Adopted
Budget
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NYC
Comptroller
Lander
&
Pension
Trustees
Celebrate
Dismissal
of
Lawsuit
Challenging
Fossil
Fuel
Divestment
by
New
York
City
Pension
Funds
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Fiscal
Note:
“Comparable
Rentals:”
A
Review
of
the
Impact
of
the
New
York
State
Requirement
that
NYC
Assess
Co-ops
and
Condos
by
Comparing
Them
to
Comparable
Rental
Buildings
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NYC
Comptroller
Lander
&
Coalition
of
Legal
Experts
and
Potential
Plaintiffs
Announce
Plan
to
Explore
Legal
Avenues
to
Resume
Congestion
Pricing
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Testimony
of
New
York
City
Comptroller
Brad
Lander
Before
the
Charter
Revision
Commission
on
New
Fiscal
Framework
Proposal
[[link removed]]
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NYC
Comptroller
Sues
Building
Services
Contractor
for
421-a
Prevailing
Wage
Violations
at
Two
Apartment
Complexes
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Statement
from
Comptroller
Lander
and
Investors
on
Supreme
Court
Ruling
in
Starbucks
Corp.
v.
McKinney
[[link removed]]
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NYPD’s
ShotSpotter
Gunshot-Detection
System
Overwhelmingly
Sends
Officers
to
Locations
Where
No
Confirmed
Shooting
Occurred,
New
Audit
Uncovers
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Office of the New York City Comptroller
Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
United States
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