Reports

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing staffing pressures, particularly a shortage of staff nurses, in NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) facilities, leading to an increased reliance on temporary nurses and higher staffing costs. This report includes a trend analysis of nurses in New York City and the rest of the State, challenges to hire more staff nurses nationwide and the experience of H+H nurse staffing during this time.

Local government sales tax collections in New York State totaled $5.5 billion in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of 7.1%, or nearly $369 million, compared to the same three-month period last year.

Regional Table [.xlsx]

New York’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides paid time off for eligible employees for bonding with a newborn, or newly adopted or foster child or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Payments under PFL rose steadily between 2018 and 2021 as the amount of allowable time off and weekly cash benefits increased. Almost eight million workers were covered under PFL, with $872 million paid on approximately 156,000 claims in 2021.

As New York City’s overall taxable sales begin to normalize from their pandemic-fueled levels, various economic sectors, most notably leisure and hospitality, continue to recover their pandemic declines. As national retail sales growth slows from its double-digit pace of 2021, City retail sales and associated revenues could see a return to historical growth rates following the next two fiscal years.

A sample of 95 local governments across New York State reported $1.34 billion in actual and anticipated spending on capital projects over a 10-year period, with about $737 million (55% of the total) in response to climate-related hazards such as increased flooding and storm damage. A review of New York City’s capital commitments for fiscal year 2023 showed that it included $829 million for adaptation and resilience projects, and another $1.3 billion for projects with adaptation and resilience components, with planned commitments averaging more than $1.8 billion per year.

The surge in federal spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly improved New York’s per capita ranking in the federal balance of payments from 49th in 2019 to 30th in Federal Fiscal Year 2021. For every dollar New York sent to the federal government in tax receipts, it received $1.51 back in federal spending, as compared to a national average of $1.70. This report is the seventh in a series by the Office of the State Comptroller that examines the flow of funds between the federal government and the states.

Interactive Map | Excel file with supporting data

The COVID-19 pandemic led to soaring unemployment rates for people with disabilities, and these rates have not declined as quickly in New York as they have nationally. This report highlights the continued need for solutions that facilitate increased employment for people with disabilities in New York.

This report summarizes data for fiscal year 2021, the most recent data reported by IDAs through the Public Authorities Reporting Information System. The report also contains a brief discussion of local development corporations, a related type of local authority. For IDA-level summary data, see our Interactive Map. For more detailed IDA and project-level data, see IDA 2021 | LDC 2021.

Wall Street’s 2022 average bonus paid to securities employees dropped to $176,700, a 26% decline from the previous year’s $240,400. Rising interest rates and fear of a recession led to significantly less profits on Wall Street after a record year in 2021.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) continues to make progress on bringing back riders, but  ridership remains well below pre-pandemic levels, putting a major strain on its budget. The report highlights key areas of transit service — safety, reliability and frequency — where the MTA can take steps to improve riders’ experience and encourage their return, to effectively fulfil its mission and stabilize its fiscal position.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced New York’s schools to take on the extraordinary challenge of quickly shifting to remote learning formats. Recent national data show student performance dropped significantly in 2022 from 2019, with New York experiencing even greater declines than the nation in fourth grade math and reading. School districts need to swiftly invest significant resources in helping students that are most in need to make up for learning loss, while pandemic relief funds for education are still available.

The Executive Budget proposes $227 billion in All Funds spending in SFY 2023-24, an increase of 2.5% from the prior year. The State faces prolonged inflation, rising federal interest rates and the end of federal relief aid that was instrumental in balancing the past two budgets. As a result, the Division of the Budget projects shortfalls in revenues and increases in spending.

Approximately one in ten, or about 800,000, New York households experienced food insecurity from 2019 to 2021, and an increasing number say they face food insufficiency since summer 2021. This report is the second in the “New Yorkers in Need” series. It details recent trends in food insecurity, explains policy interventions by the federal and State governments, and demonstrates a clear need for a continuing commitment to reduce the incidence of food insecurity.

New York City’s $104.8 billion preliminary fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget has benefitted from better-than-projected revenue collections, the reallocation of unused federal pandemic relief funds and savings initiatives. The Comptroller's office assumes that a number of the fiscal risks the City currently faces will continue, increasing the planned budget gap to about $8.9 billion in FY 2025 and $13.9 billion in FY 2027, even when adjusting for stronger revenue collections.

In SFY 2021-22 (April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022), OSC completed 10 audits of preschool special education providers' expenses submitted to SED. These audits cumulatively identified $3.8 million in recommended disallowances, or more than 4 percent of the total claimed expenses of $92.8 million for the audit period.

Local sales tax collections in New York state increased by 9.2% in January compared to the same month in 2022. Overall, local collections totaled $1.89 billion, up $159 million compared to the same time last year.

Regional Table [.xlsx]

Like many cities across the United States, New York City has adjusted its budget priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic to help address pressing needs. This report examines how the City’s spending priorities shifted during the pandemic, including increases to support education, public safety, quality of life improvements and social services, as well the risks and uncertainties that could impact these newly funded programs in the long term.

Local government sales tax collections in New York State totaled $22.1 billion in calendar year 2022, up 12.7%, or $2.5 billion, from 2021 due to strong sales statewide, especially in New York City.

Last year the New York State Thruway Authority proposed a multi-year schedule of toll increases to begin in 2024. This report provides a summary of the Thruway Authority’s current and forecasted revenue and expenses, factors that have impacted its finances over the past several years, the toll increase proposal, and considerations to help guide the assessment of the proposal.

New York has one of the nation’s highest debt levels, largely because measures to restrict the excessive use of debt have been circumvented over the years in State budgets. This report identifies policy and fiscal weaknesses that have allowed State debt to grow to troubling levels and offers a roadmap for State debt reform to improve debt affordability and protect New York’s fiscal health.