Reports

The worst recession since the Great Depression appears to be coming to an end, but it has cost the nation 8.4 million jobs. While the downturn has been less severe in New York State and New York City than in the nation, the impact has been painful nonetheless. New York City lost 186,900 jobs and tax revenues fell by 7.1 percent in FY 2009 ($2.8 billion)—the steepest decline in at least 30 years.

The nation is slowly emerging from the worst recession since the Great Depression, but the recovery is expected to be slow and uneven. Although the national economy grew at 5.9 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009, the strong growth could not offset the deep contractions that occurred in the first half of the year. As a result, the economy contracted by 2.4 percent in 2009, the largest annual decline in 63 years.

Wall Street bonuses paid to New York City securities industry employees rose by 17 percent to $20.3 billion in 2009.

In the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) initiated intense planning efforts to determine how to best protect its customers and key assets from any future terrorist incident.

New York City lost 110,000 jobs (2.9 percent) between October 2008 and October 2009, which has caused a sharp drop in utilization of the MTA’s transit facilities (e.g., subways, buses, and bridges and tunnels).

New York City has always been a gateway to opportunity for people from around the world. Successive waves of immigration created a melting pot of cultures that left its mark on the City’s history and its neighborhoods.

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The nation is emerging from the worst recession since World War II. While New York City was hit hard, the impact has not been as severe as initially feared or as painful as elsewhere in the nation. The City has lost 125,000 jobs, and the November Plan assumes that job losses will peak at 220,000 during the third quarter of 2010—fewer losses than in either of the past two recessions.

The global financial crisis was rooted in excessive risk-taking, which exposed the financial industry to historic losses when underlying assumptions proved faulty.

Long Island City and Astoria are the westernmost parts of Queens, only minutes from Midtown Manhattan. The area benefits from a strong transportation network, which has made it attractive to business and residential development.

The MTA’s commuter railroads, bridges, and tunnels have been largely restored to a state of good repair, with some exceptions. The subway system has made substantial progress, but there is a large backlog of needed investments.

Two years ago, New York City’s economy was booming and the City’s coffers were overflowing with record budget surpluses. Today, the recession is rippling through the local economy and taking a heavy toll on tax collections. Tax collections, excluding recent tax increases, were down last year by $3.3 billion and are projected to decline by another $2.4 billion in FY 2010—a cumulative two-year drop of $5.7 billion.

New York City is managing its way through its greatest fiscal challenge in decades as the recession ripples through the local economy and takes a heavy toll on tax collections. To help balance the FY 2010 budget in the face of a $6.8 billion drop in anticipated tax revenue, as well as to narrow the out-year budget gaps, the City has raised property taxes, slashed agency and capital spending, obtained extraordinary federal assistance, reached agreement with the municipal unions to reduce health care costs, and drawn down reserves built up during the last economic boom.

The Governor and State Legislature have taken important steps to stabilize the operating budget of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and to fund its next five-year capital program.

In recent years, the number of affordable rental apartments in New York City has declined and more households are devoting at least 30 percent of their income toward rent. These factors have exacerbated an already serious lack of affordable housing in New York City.

Just a few years ago, New York City posted record budget surpluses, but now the City is facing its greatest fiscal challenge in decades. Tax revenues are projected to fall by $5 billion over a two-year period as a result of the rapid deterioration in the national and local economies, particularly on Wall Street, the City’s economic engine.

Cash bonuses paid by Wall Street firms to their New York City employees declined by 44 percent in 2008 in response to record losses suffered by the securities industry.

The financial crisis gripping the nation is the most serious since the Great Depression, and this recession is shaping up to be the worst in the post–World War II era. Events are transforming the Wall Street industry, which accounts for up to 20 percent of State revenue and 12 percent of City tax revenue.

The Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, often referred to as the Hunts Point Market, is the largest food distribution center in the world.

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Wall Street and the nation have been pounded by the fallout from the subprime credit crisis that reached a critical point in July 2007.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates the largest and most diverse transportation system in the nation, and keeping it secure entails significant challenges.