A 2019 report from the Department of City Planning found that New York City added 770,000 new jobs between 2001 and 2018, but only 407,000 new units of housing, creating steep competition for minimal middle-income and low-income housing. A year later, a report by the Citizens Budget Commission found that housing production rates in suburban Westchester, Rockland and Nassau Counties are among the lowest in the country, in large part due to exclusionary zoning. That lack of available housing only drives costs, making homeownership impossible for the majority of downstate residents and forcing more than 40 percent of tenants to spend over a third of their income on rent.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul took a page from Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman’s playbook and told New York workers if it’s safe enough to go out to eat, it’s safe enough to return to the office.

Hochul again pleaded with business leaders to get workers back to offices, repeating this message in discussions with Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan think tank, during a breakfast meeting on Feb. 3 at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan.

During a wide-ranging talk at the New York Athletic Club, hosted by the Citizens Budget Commission, Hochul held court with CEOs of major firms and high-profile past and present city officials. Former Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch; Janno Lieber, chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were among those in attendance.

The Citizens Budget Commission said the Adams administration will need to decide if it’s worth it to fill vacant positions. The goal is to save 3% from each agency without impacting public health and the Department of Corrections.

In those instances, the watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission warned, owners may just eat the fines. They can buy greenhouse-gas offsets created by projects like tree-planting, but can only use them to wipe out 10 percent of a building’s emissions.

Ana Champeny, deputy research director of the Citizens Budget Commission, agreed.
“It’s been pretty effective in generating revenue and keeping delinquencies low,” she said, but emphasized that city officials would do well to figure out why properties have liens in the first place.

Carol Kellermann was president of Citizens Budget

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One on one with Brad Lander

In response to Tuesday’s budget presentation, Andrew Rein, president of the nonpartisan, pro-business Citizens Budget Commission, noted the opportunity to both apply fiscal restraint and expand programs. He was quoted Tuesday as saying that going forward, "The risk is the feeding frenzy, the fiscal cavorting, the fiscal hangover."

Andrew Rein, president of Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit watchdog, urged the governor and Legislature to take more steps to rein in recurring spending. “The budget recognizes an eye-popping additional $5 billion in receipts in each of the next four years, dependent on the continued economic recovery,” he said. “As strong as the receipts and federal aid are, this year’s budget negotiations risk a feeding frenzy that could destabilize the State’s future finances.”