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Report
Energy & Environment
Keys to a Cap-and-Invest Design That’s Earth- and Economy-Focused
Recommendations for a Cost-Effective Program to Meet New York's Ambitious Climate Goals
November 28, 2023
While NYCI provides a great opportunity to reduce emissions in a cost-effective manner and fund critical investments strategically, its success depends on it being well designed and implemented.
Report
Economic Development
11 Billion Reasons to Rethink
New York's Increasing Economic Development Spending
July 20, 2023
Despite improved disclosure about individual projects, State and local economic development spending continues to increase without sufficient evidence that these programs cost-effectively create jobs or are more beneficial than alternative uses of the funds.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
An Expensive and Risky Benefit
How Low Interest Rates Cost New York City Taxpayers $1.2 Billion Annually
October 05, 2016
A unique feature of a tax deferred compensation plan available to NYC teachers guarantees them a 7% investment return regardless of what happens to interest rates or in the stock market.
Report
Economic Development
New York City's Competitiveness in Attracting Talent
2016 Scorecard
September 28, 2016
How does the New York City metro area compare to other large cities in the competition for a talented workforce? Affordability and commute times remain challenges.
Report
Economic Development
Increasing Without Evidence
NYS Economic Development Spending Update
September 26, 2016
This report tracks growth in NYS' economic development programs between 2010 and 2014. Little progress has been made on improving transparency and demonstrating effectiveness.
Report
Energy & Environment
Can We Have Our Cake and Compost It Too?
An Analysis of Organic Waste Diversion in New York City
February 02, 2016
This report examines the feasibility and the cost of options for expanding the Department of Sanitation's organic waste program.
Report
Public Workforce
Twenty Years Later
Integrating Services In The New York City Fire Department
December 09, 2015
The FDNY responds to more more medical emergencies than fires. The department needs a fundamental transformation.
Report
Economic Development
An Assessment of Performance Reporting by Regional Economic Development Councils
November 29, 2015
This brief assesses the performance of New York State's Regional Economic Development Councils over the past four years and offers recommendations for further improving data collected on projects and on the economic performance of the regions.
Report
Economic Development
Bigger Not Better
New York’s Expanding Economic Development Programs
February 18, 2015
Although some modest reforms have been made, many economic development programs have grown significantly without the improvements needed to address widely noted shortcomings.
Report
Energy & Environment
A Better Way to Pay for Solid Waste Management
February 05, 2015
This policy brief explores a new financing method for residential solid waste removal by the Department of Sanitation: a volume-based garbage fee. The four main benefits include: 1) service cost visibility, 2) waste reduction, 3) independent access to capital, and 4) fairness.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
8 Things New Yorkers Should Know About Public Retirement Benefits in New York State
October 19, 2010
This report presents eight facts about retirement benefits for New York State and local employees intended to stimulate a substantive discourse on pursuing changes to prevent underfunding of the pension systems and to make retirement benefits more fair and affordable.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
Better Benefits from our Billion Bucks
August 02, 2010
This report describes the organization and financing of the union welfare funds, identifies and documents three problems with the current arrangements – limited accountability, poor financial management and inefficient provision of benefits - and presents recommendations to improve the use of these payments and provide taxpayer savings.
Report
Economic Development
It's Time to End New York State's Empire Zone Program
December 02, 2008
The Economic Development Zone program has become a vehicle for giving tax breaks to a variety of corporations with no clear, consistent, verifiable justification for the public investment. This report describes the benefits enjoyed by participating firms and how those benefits are distributed among economic regions of the State and types of firms; identifies and elaborates on the three serious problems that compromise the program’s efficacy; and asserts that the Empire Zone program cannot be fixed, citing past failures to do so, and should end.
Report
Pensions & Benefits
Old Assumptions, New Realities
The Truth About Wages and Retirement Benefits For Government Employees
March 31, 2006
This report summarizes a more detailed study prepared by CBC, “The Case for Redesigning Retirement Benefits for New York’s Public Employees,” released in 2005. For decades the popular image of government employment has involved the tradeoff of lower wages for job security and relatively generous retirement benefits. That image, while still widespread, is no longer the reality.