Search
Showing 1 - 12 of 12
Podcast episode
Transportation
$1.5 trillion, with the MTA's Janno Lieber and Jamie Torres-Springer
December 19, 2023
$1.5 trillion is the MTA’s total asset value—the trains, buses, yards, and stations...all the infrastructure moving New Yorkers round the clock. At a recent CBC event, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber and President of Construction and Development Jamie Torres-Springer discussed congestion pricing, fare evasion, congestion pricing, state of good repair, the future of Penn Station, and more.
Op Ed
State Budget
State budget gaps are coming. The time to address them is now.
Albany Times Union
October 20, 2023
With temporary funding boosts petering out, New York must curtail spending growth to head off painful cuts later.
Op Ed
Transportation
Labor and the MTA Must Work Together to Improve the Nation's Largest Transit System
City & State
May 17, 2023
With the TWU 100’s contract expired, there’s an opportunity for both sides to work together to improve service for New Yorkers.
Podcast episode
State Budget
70+, with Kathryn Garcia
May 09, 2023
70+ is the number of agencies and authorities that report through New York State's Deputy Secretaries to New York's Director of State Operations and Infrastructure, Kathryn Garcia. She joined the podcast at a critical time for our State's economy, and after the $229 billion budget was passed by the Legislature one month into the fiscal year. Listen as we learn how the State tries to solve our housing crisis, face our environmental crises, educate our children, and ensure workers and businesses thrive within New York, and much more.
Podcast episode
State Budget
$227 billion, with NYS Budget Director Robert Megna
March 20, 2023
$227 billion is the size of the NYS FY 2024 Executive Budget. The State's finances are in a precarious state, with the economy uncertain and the budget going from riches to rags. There is an $8 billion surplus this year, but outyear gaps of over $7 billion and a $12 billion structural gap. Joining the podcast is NYS Budget Director Robert Megna, who was appointed only 10 days prior to this recording and has returned to the role he held from 2009-2015.
Op Ed
Transportation
The MTA's Closely Guarded Secret
New Yorkers should be told how much it would cost to fix the entire transit system
December 19, 2017
At next month’s State of the State address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to unveil a congestion-pricing proposal that would generate a dedicated funding stream for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Op Ed
State Budget
Repeal the Film Tax Credit, But Don't Expect Savings Just Yet
Even if this wasteful program is killed in 2018, its expenditures will continue for years
December 13, 2017
The Citizens Budget Commission is a long-time critic of the New York State Film Tax Credit program and supports its repeal. However, due to some unusual provisions of state tax law, repeal of the credit will not yield immediate state savings.
Op Ed
Transportation
Shared sacrifice to save the subways
It's not just the mayor and governor; transit workers and motorists must chip in, too
July 28, 2017
Neither the “city” nor the “state” is a person with a bank account: it is taxpayers who are being called upon to foot the bill. Motorists and workers should also share the burden.
Op Ed
Transportation
Funding Fares Should Be the City's Responsiblity
April 02, 2017
If the mayor supports the policy, it should be a priority that is accommodated within the city’s financial plan.
Op Ed
Education
Fix NY's broken formula for distributing school aid
March 22, 2017
How much more funding should New York state provide to Syracuse public schools? A report by the Citizens Budget Commission, for which I was the primary author, says that an increase of $83 million is needed for the City of Syracuse school district.
Op Ed
Education
How Much More State Education Funding Is Needed?
March 08, 2017
With reforms to the way funding is distributed, the State can fund a "sound, basic education" with $569 million more in annual funding.
Op Ed
Transportation
Make the MetroCard a gateway to opportunity, not a barrier
Transit should be half-price for the working poor
January 08, 2017
Half-priced metrocards for low-income adults should be paid for by the City, not the MTA. The City already supports reduced fares for the elderly and disabled.