Reports

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.

The neighborhoods of Washington Heights and Inwood comprise the upper portion of Manhattan. The local economy has expanded modestly in recent years, and while the area is home to several large institutions, small businesses are the primary source of local employment.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is facing a serious fiscal crisis.

Last summer the subprime mortgage crisis sent shockwaves through the national and local economies. Over the past year, credit has tightened; financial institutions have written off more than $200 billion in bad debt and posted record losses; home values have dipped nationally and have begun to weaken in New York City; job growth has weakened; and inflation has strengthened, particularly for energy and food prices.

Each year in New York City, more than 100,000 public and private school children between the ages of 5 and 21 are referred (by teachers or parents) to the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to be evaluated for their needs for continued or new special education services.

Over the past 12 years, the three largest operating agencies of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (i.e., New York City Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and the Metro-North Railroad) paid out more than $1.1 billion on 86,875 claims for personal injury or property damage. The claims were filed by passengers, employees, motorists, and others.

Last June, New York City’s four-year financial plan was based on what appeared to be very conservative economic and revenue assumptions, given the economic environment at that time. During the summer, however, the subprime mortgage crisis sent shockwaves through the national and local economies. As a result, over the course of the current fiscal year the City revised its economic and revenue outlook to keep ahead of adverse economic developments.

On February 27, 2008, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released a proposed capital program for 2008-2013.

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

Average Wall Street bonuses in 2007 declined 4.7 percent from record levels in the prior year to $180,420 even though the credit crunch and market turmoil battered profits.