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Testimony
Education
Testimony on the New Department of Education Five-Year Capital Plan
December 18, 2018
City officials cannot continue to expect the City can build its way to a solution; making real progress will require implementing operational strategies that alter the use of space and redirect students to facilities with capacity.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 61: 2,268 with Stephen Eide
December 13, 2018
2,268 is the average daily number of people in adult psychiatric centers in New York State, a decrease from a peak of more than 93,000 people in 1955. Stephen Eide, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses the impacts of deinstitutionalization in New York.
Testimony
Pensions & Benefits
The Health Care Savings Agreement: A Look Back and a Look Forward
November 29, 2018
Savings to health benefit expenditures are crucial to attaining labor settlements that are fair and reasonable for both City employees and taxpayers.
Testimony
Taxes
New York City Property Tax Reform
November 27, 2018
CBC makes recommendations for property tax reform to fix problems with transparency and equity of the system.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 59: 1981
November 16, 2018
The data point for today is 1981, the year in which the State Legislature enacted S7000A, the landmark bill that formalized the current property tax system for New York City. A response to the Hellerstein case, which found the system was in violation of State law, S7000A essentially codified the status quo.In doing so, it established a system of property classification, fractional assessments, caps, phase-ins, and class shares that is still with us 37 years later. These structural features and statutory requirements are the root of the system’s inequities and complexities. A home worth $500,000 can face the same tax bill as a home worth $1.5 million, while the value of a condominium unit, according to the City, is a fraction of its sale price. In fact, some buildings have values that are below the sale price of individual units. And commercial and rental property faces a higher average property tax burden than 1-, 2- and 3-family homes.
These inequities and problems have led to repeated calls for reform, including pending litigation. This past May, Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson formed the Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform. In September, the Citizens Budget Commission, the Regional Plan Association, and NYU Robert Wagner School of Public Service held a panel to discuss the problem, inequities and potential reforms
Testimony
Housing
Testimony on the NYCHA Physical Needs Assessment
November 15, 2018
NYCHA has an astounding $32 billion in capital needs, a nearly fivefold increase over the last decade. Today nearly all its properties require substantial rehabilitation.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 57: 8 years, with David Friedfel and Patrick Orecki
October 24, 2018
8 is the number of years Andrew Cuomo has served as the 56th Governor of New York State. CBC's David Friedfel and Patrick Orecki join the podcast to discuss the demographic, fiscal, and policy trends of the last 8 years.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 56: 90%, with NYCHA Interim Chair & CEO Stanley Brezenoff
October 19, 2018
90% is the share of NYCHA units CBC estimates may not be cost effective to repair by 2027 under the current trajectory of deterioration. NYCHA Interim Chair and CEO Stan Brezenoff joined CBC to discuss the policy and funding challenges facing NYCHA, and how he plans to tackle key areas in desperate need of improvement.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 54: 3.1 miles, with Patrick Orecki
September 21, 2018
3.1 miles is the length of the newly constructed Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. At a cost of $4 billion dollars, the bridge was financed with debt, but no new tolls have been announced to repay it. CBC's Patrick Orecki explains why the toll may need to double from current rates.
Testimony
City Budget
Update on the City’s Organics Collection Program
September 20, 2018
Because of low participation and inadequate organic waste processing capacity, the organics collection program is not ready for citywide expansion.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 53: $1 billion, with Linda Gibbs
September 07, 2018
Since Bloomberg Associates was launched in 2014, participating cities have invested more than $1 billion in initiatives supported or created by the philanthropic consultancy. Former NYC Deputy Mayor and Bloomberg Associates Principal Linda Gibbs joins the podcast to talk about her work using data to effect change in NYC and other cities.
Testimony
Economic Development
NYS ABO's Oversight and Regulation of IDAs
September 04, 2018
The purpose of today’s public hearing is to discuss regulations recently proposed by the Authorities Budget Office to impose additional disclosure requirements on local industrial development agencies (IDAs).
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 52: 5,000 with the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, Liz Glazer
August 30, 2018
Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan to close the jails on Rikers Island, in part by reducing the overall city jail population to 5,000 detainees, down from about 8,200 now, which is down from well over 20,000 two decades ago. Liz Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, joined the podcast to discuss the closure of Rikers and the administration’s other criminal justice policies.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 51: 1, with NYS Attorney General Barbara Underwood
August 24, 2018
1 - As in the first ever female Attorney General in New York State. Barbara Underwood was serving as Solicitor General when she was made the Acting Attorney General in May 2018 and was appointed by the Legislature to the position later that month. This podcast features her remarks at a CBC breakfast discussing the agenda of the Office of the Attorney General under her leadership.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 49: $17 billion, with Jamison Dague
August 07, 2018
$17 billion is the preliminary budget for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2019, an increase of 2.1% from 2018. CBC's Director of Infrastructure Studies Jamison Dague breaks down the preliminary budget and discusses looming risks, such as subway car reliability and progress of the various "action plans" put in place this year.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 48: 7.42%, with NYC Labor Commissioner Bob Linn
July 27, 2018
7.42% is the compounded salary and wage increases for members of DC37, the City’s largest municipal union for civilian workers, under a new contract that sets the pattern for negotiations with other labor unions. NYC Labor Commissioner Bob Linn joins the podcast to discuss this deal, the dynamics of negotiating with the public workforce, and why health insurance is an area long overdue for savings.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 47: $31.8 billion, with Sean Campion
July 19, 2018
$31.8 billion is the amount required to repair NYCHA's public housing units over the next five years. CBC Senior Research Associate Sean Campion discuss the findings and recommendations of CBC's recent report on NYCHA's capital needs and explains how NYCHA got into such a deep hole and and how it can start to dig out.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 46: Dr. Mary Bassett, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
July 11, 2018
1,441 is the number of overdose fatalities in New York City in 2017. NYC Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary Bassett discusses Healing NYC, a new program designed to combat the opioid health crisis, as well as neighborhood health clinics, lead testing at NYCHA and more.
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 44: $225 million, with NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer
June 21, 2018
$225 billion is the total amount added to reserves and the retiree health benefits trust fund in the recently adopted budget. In contrast, the City added more than $2 billion in new spending, far outpacing what was set aside. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer joined the podcast to discuss the adequacy of the City's reserves, agency spending, and other issues
Podcast episode
City Budget
Episode 43: 2020, with Deputy Mayor Phil Thompson
June 07, 2018
2020 is the year of the next Census, a national survey that determines the number of seats each state is allocated in the House of Representatives, and informs policy and funding decisions at all levels of government. Phil Thompson, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives, is in charge of coordinating the City's public outreach in the months leading up to the Census. The Deputy Mayor joined the podcast to discuss the importance of Census outreach and the many other initiatives he is spearheading.