Property tax bills going out this month are revealing the carnage wrought by the pandemic on New York City’s commercial real estate market.

From the Empire State Building to the Four Seasons, property owners saw the value of their buildings drop. The lower assessments stand to provide tax relief, but also serve as a ominous reminder of the damage done to commercial buildings as Covid-19 emptied out Manhattan.

Six months have passed since that first shot. Much of New York no longer looks all that different from the way it did before the pandemic. The masks are coming off. The subways are becoming crowded. People are eating indoors. Uber prices are surging. Spike Lee is courtside at Madison Square Garden — or was, until the Knicks’ season ended in disappointment. New York is returning to normal. But is normal what we want?

In 2016, Ms. Garcia did a presentation for the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog organization. Several people were impressed and approached Mr. O’Neill to ask if he thought she might consider running for mayor.

The New York City Housing Authority, home to more than 400,000 New Yorkers, is falling apart. Long plagued by mold, lead paint, structural cracks, and failing elevators, boilers, and locks, the authority of over 177,000 units in 335 developments across the five boroughs is in need of a staggering $40 billion in physical repairs over the next ten years and faces an immediate operating budget deficit of about $300 million.

History may be kind to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Much as the legacy of his former boss, former Mayor David Dinkins, was being considered in a more positive light even before his death last year, it’s not too hard to imagine the current mayor being remembered for instituting universal pre-K and overseeing a period of economic growth and low crime. But in the present, de Blasio is often a punchline, with a consistently negative approval rating, even among members of his own party – so much so that mayoral candidates are running away from him.

With less than three weeks to go before the mayoral primary and following a bruising in-person debate this week, business leaders have divided the Democratic candidates for mayor into those they believe embrace that business is part of the solution to the city’s recovery from the pandemic recession — and those who do not.

Next Community Forum is tomorrow night with our partners Citizen Budget Commission. NBC4's Melissa Russo will be talking with guests about the city's financial recovery.

New York's economy last year was put on ice in order to stem the tide of COVID-19 cases. Now, a year later, businesses, schools and public gathering areas are slowly returning to some semblance of normal.

The state's coffers, meanwhile, have been supercharged by aid from Congress, as well as tax revenue from the state's wealthiest residents, bolstering New York's finances for several years to come.

The war of words between City Council Member Brad Lander and Council Speaker Corey Johnson, both Democratic candidates for city comptroller, continues to escalate as Lander raises concerns that Johnson will leverage the city budget to help his chances of winning the June primary

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City saw a drastic loss in jobs over the past year. However, employment levels are finally beginning to make a comeback.

On April 26, Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out his record-breaking 2022 budget proposal, calling it a $98.6 billion “recovery budget” to revive the city’s economy. Despite the city’s major losses over the past year, it is expected to receive roughly $15 billion in federal aid, which includes $6 billion in unrestricted funds, which will significantly boost the city’s budget next year.

The newly released (and late) state financial plan sheds new light on New York’s finances. Patrick Orecki, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission, explains what this new information tells us about the state’s fiscal situation and how federal stimulus money is being spent.

Given that subway safety concerns could impair New York City’s economic recovery from COVID-19, recent spikes in crime and levels of policing triggered spirited discussion at Wednesday’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority meeting.

As often as been the case, the matter has featured bickering between the state-run MTA and City Hall, just as the city is reopening en masse from the pandemic and subway riders are returning.