Dear John,

It’s been a busy month, to say the least.

From reckoning with election results and brush fires, to celebrating Diwali and Trans Awareness Month, our office has been busy working to deliver a safer, more affordable, more livable, and better run city for all New Yorkers.

Here’s a recap of everything we’ve been up to this month, and we’ll start with yesterday’s big news:

• A legal settlement solidifies Governor Hochul 's commitment to un-pause congestion pricing—and the execution of the tolling agreement provides the federal, state, and local approvals needed to get it up and running before Donald Trump takes office.
  
  Props to our strong coalition of lawyers, experts, plaintiffs, and transit advocates who brought these lawsuits to ensure that congestion pricing would go into effect as required by law—and succeeded in doing exactly that. We are two big steps closer to modernized subway signals, new station elevators, expanded subways, faster bus service, less traffic, and cleaner air!
  
  
• We released a new report, "Protecting New York City," which gives New Yorkers a clear-eyed view of the threats an incoming Trump Administration poses to our city.
  
  We also gathered a cross-sector roundtable of leaders representing labor, business, advocacy, community, and faith, with many different points of view. By working together, we can protect each other, we can protect our city, and we can protect our most vulnerable New Yorkers.

Comptroller Lander addresses the roundtable.

• At the beginning of the month, we published the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for FY 2024. It’s time to update the City’s fiscal framework, and this means addressing corruption risks and operational weaknesses in City procurement.
  
  
• November is Transgender Awareness Month, and our office celebrated with two events. Together we solemnly remembered the lives of those we've lost, and honored NYC's trans community for their resiliency and extraordinary contributions to our great city. Plus, refer to our LGBTQ+ Resource Guide for more resources serving trans New Yorkers.

Jahaira Gonzalez receives a commendation at a Trans Day of Remembrance & Resilience event.

• We introduced you to Vanessa Rodriguez, our Audit Supervisor at the NYC Comptroller's Office. Click here to learn how Vanessa ensures city agencies operate effectively by conducting detailed reviews, analyzing financial records, and leading teams that help keep NYC government accountable.

Vanessa introduces herself as an auditor supervisor.

• A few weeks ago, New Yorkers experienced unsafe air because of brush fires in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and across the NYC metro area. The fire demonstrates why we need protections for workers exposed to the outdoors. Read our report on how New York City and State can do just that.
  
  

• We celebrated the Festival of Lights with our annual Diwali celebration, hosted at Richi Rich Palace. The evening brought together New Yorkers from our Indo-Caribbean, Sikh, Indian, Nepali, and Bangladeshi communities to celebrate light, hope, and unity.

Comptroller Lander and attendees at the Diwali celebration.

• Earlier this week, we released a major new audit of NYCHA that found extremely low resident satisfaction with the way NYCHA vendors are handling repairs and maintenance—from fixing broken doors to painting and tiling to repairing leaks. By developing a simple “vendor scorecard” mobile app, NYCHA could better respond to repair requests, give residents a voice, and regain their trust. Click here to see a demo.

Mockup our our proposed Yelp-like "vendor scorecard" mobile app.

We'll be back in touch with more updates soon. And as always, If you would like to offer ideas for audits or investigations, please submit them here.

Thanks,

Brad

Office of the New York City Comptroller

Our mailing address is:
Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
United States

This email was sent to [email protected]. If you wish to no longer receive these messages, please unsubscribe.