Search
Showing 1 - 20 of 104
Podcast episode
State Budget
$233 billion, with Blake Washington
March 26, 2024
233 billion is the total NYS budget proposed by Governor Hochul for fiscal year 2025, and that is the talk of the town in Albany as executive and legislative leaders work on a new budget agreement in time for the April 1 deadline. NYS Budget Director Blake Washington, who is a key part of budget negotiations happening right now, spoke with the CBC at a recent event. He and CBC President Andrew Rein discussed the State's current fiscal picture, the large structural gap, and more of the pressing issues facing New York.
Podcast episode
Education
$39.5 billion, with Chancellor David Banks and Emma Vadehra
March 05, 2024
$39.5 billion is how much NYC spends to educate our students each year. The New York City Public Schools has an enormous and challenging task: to educate and develop 900,000 students who come from a wide diversity of backgrounds and needs. And it’s important to ask: Are we getting the return we need on our dollars? How are our students doing? To answer this and other pressing questions is NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks and Deputy Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer Emma Vadehra.
Testimony
Transportation
Public Comment on the Proposed Structure For the Central Business District Tolling Program
Submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
February 29, 2024
While the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) has long held the position that there should not be credits for bridge or tunnel crossings, we believe the Traffic Mobility Review Board’s (TMRB) congestion pricing toll recommendations, as a whole, are reasonable.
Podcast episode
Taxes
151,700, with Maria Doulis
January 31, 2024
151,700 is the net loss of New York personal income tax filers in 2020 and 2021. Some of that is the result of the pandemic, but how much? With this episode, CBC is relaunching the podcast to return to a more focused discussion with policy leaders, and there is no better way to re-launch than with the podcast's founder: CBC alum Maria Doulis, Deputy New York State Comptroller for Budget and Policy Analysis. Join us as we explore one of the most difficult challenges facing the City and State—how to keep and attract more New Yorkers.
Op Ed
City Budget
Taking Control of New York’s Budgetary Future
Vital City
January 25, 2024
Budget season kicked off with an Albany-New York City doubleheader last week, with brightening skies in both places thanks to proactive efforts to cut costs (especially in the city) and a resilient economy that is bringing in higher-than-projected tax receipts.
Podcast episode
Transportation
$1.5 trillion, with the MTA's Janno Lieber and Jamie Torres-Springer
December 19, 2023
$1.5 trillion is the total asset value of the MTA—all of the trains, buses, yards, and stations...all the stuff that moves New Yorkers every day, 24 hours a day. 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.
Testimony
Transportation
Public Comment on the MTA’s Twenty-Year Needs Assessment for 2025-2044
Submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
October 25, 2023
As it stands, the public does not have a clue how much it would cost over the next five years to begin bringing the system to adequate condition.
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.
Testimony
Transportation
Testimony on Congestion Pricing and the MTA's Fiscal Health
Submitted to the New York City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
August 17, 2023
As long-time supporters of congestion pricing, we are pleased that the MTA has secured federal approval and moved into the implementation phase.
Testimony
Transportation
Public Comment on Proposed Changes to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Fares and Tolls
Submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
June 22, 2023
We support the proposed increase in fares and tolls since it is essential for the MTA’s fiscal health and wholly appropriate for riders and drivers to pay a reasonable portion of costs.
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.
Testimony
Education
Testimony on the NYC Department of Education and the City’s FY 2024 Preliminary Budget
Submitted to the New York City Council Committee on Education
March 15, 2023
Understanding the DOE’s budget and spending trends prior to and throughout the pandemic, and the implications for fiscal year 2024 and beyond, is vital to determine how much of the City’s resources should be allocated to the DOE going forward.
Testimony
Transportation
Testimony on the State Plan to Address the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Financial Crisis
Submitted to the New York State Senate Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions and the Standing Committee on Transportation
March 03, 2023
The fiscal stability of the MTA is of paramount importance to the region and the State.
Testimony
Public Workforce
Testimony on the New York City Health Insurance for Employees and Retirees
Submitted to the New York City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor
January 09, 2023
With health insurance costs budgeted to increase at a rate of 8.5 percent between fiscal years 2023 and 2026, efforts to restrain the City’s costs are critical.
Op Ed
State Budget
Getting Our Money’s Worth from N.Y.
New York Daily News
November 29, 2022
With the election behind us, Gov. Hochul and the Legislature can now focus squarely on policies and programs that will shape the state’s future.
Op Ed
Transportation
How to Fix the MTA's Huge Budget Deficit
Crain’s New York Business
November 21, 2022
A strong public transit system is essential to New York’s economy and New Yorkers’ quality of life.
Testimony
Transportation
Testimony on NYC Ferry
Delivered to the New York City Council Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Economic Development
September 22, 2022
Reducing the ferry subsidy is vitally important to EDC’s capacity to meet its core economic development mission.
Testimony
Public Workforce
Testimony on the NYC Municipal Workforce
Delivered before the New York City Council Committees on Civil Service and Labor, and Oversight and Investigations
September 09, 2022
The City needs to move the existing vacancies to where they are needed, streamline the hiring process, and consider how to be more flexible given the tight labor market and modern career paths.