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Citizens Budget Commission

Citizens Budget Commission

  • What's The [DATA] Point? $15 billion, with First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 84 -- $15 billion, Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    wtdp dean fuleihan2$15 billion is the CBC's estimate of the three-year revenue shortfall for New York City government in a recession. First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan joined CBC President Andrew Rein for a

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  • First Deputy Mayor on Next Steps for Voter-Approved 'Rainy Day Fund'

    control board bdb

    (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photo Office)


    With voter approval of a city charter amendment to pursue the creation of a budgetary “rainy day fund” in New York City, de Blasio administration officials are now looking to change state laws so that the city can actually start one.

    “We’re going to have to work together to make this happen,” said First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan at a breakfast event hosted by the Citizens Budget Commission Wednesday morning, just a few hours after polls closed on Tuesday night.

    Voters had overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the

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  • What's The [DATA] Point? $81.3 billion, with New York Tax Commissioner Michael Schmidt

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 83 -- $81.3 billion, with New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Michael Schmidt [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    michael schmidt dataAppointed to be the new Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance by Governor Cuomo earlier this year, Mike

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  • What's The [DATA] Point? 5, The 2019 Charter Revision Questions on Your Ballot

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 82 -- 5, The 2019 Charter Revision Questions on Your Ballot, with Gail Benjamin and Carl Weisbroad of the 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    wtdp 82There are 19 proposals to change city government and elections in five "yes" or "no" questions on this year's

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  • What's The [DATA] Point? $7.3 Trillion, with Linda Lacewell of the Department of Financial Services

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 81 -- $7.3 Trillion, with Linda Lacewell of the State Department of Financial Services  [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    linda lacewell

    $7.3 trillion - the assists of the more than 3,000 insurance and financial institutions regulated by New York State Department of Financial Services.

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  • What's The [DATA] Point? 16,000 - The Future of Gifted & Talented Schooling in New York City

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 79 -- 16,000, with David Tipson of Appleseed & City Council Member Robert Cornegy [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    cornergy tippson wtdpMayor de Blasio's School Diversity Advisory Group recently released its second and final set of recommendations to integrate the city's schools and

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  • Top Charter School Advocate on the Controversial Sector’s Strengths and Weaknesses

    gov attends charter

    (photo: the governor's office)


    James Merriman has been involved in the charter school movement in New York since its inception 20 years ago, first as the general counsel for the Charter Schools Institute and now, for the last 12 years, as CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, a leading charter school advocacy and resource group.

    “My parents were both professors. I thought I was going to be a professor. It’s all anybody did in my house,” Merriman said in ...

  • A Chore We Must Do: Over-Hauling Private Waste Management in New York City

    assist parade cleanup

    (photo: Michael Anton/Department of Sanitation)


    Environmental advocates and labor unions are dissatisfied with New York City’s system of collecting garbage from commercial establishments. Unlike waste from residences, including apartment buildings, which is collected by the city’s Department of Sanitation, waste from office buildings, retail businesses, and restaurants is collected by for-hire companies that charge their customers fees for the service.

    Environmentalists decry the traffic and pollution caused by multiple different waste

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  • An Old, Unfair System: New York City’s Property Tax Conundrum - Part I - Taking on the Difficult Task

    mayor deblasio clears

    Mayor de Blasio shovels snow outside one of his two Brooklyn houses (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor's Office)


    This is part one of a three-part series. Skip to part two - Deep and Complex Inequities - here.

    In May 2018, after years of criticism that New York City’s property tax system lacks equity, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced they would empanel a commission of “blue

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  • What's the [Data] Point? 98,000, Addressing New York City School Overcrowding

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 77 -- 98,000, with CBC's Riley Edwards  [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    ep77 riley edaCitizens Budget Commission recently released a new report -- Cut Costs, Not Ribbons -- about how to address

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  • Struggling with Overcrowded Schools and Large Class Sizes, City Advances $8.8 Billion Plan

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    Mayor de Blasio & others break ground for a new East New York school (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Some days, it can be hard for Arthur Goldstein to walk down the hallway of Francis Lewis High School in Queens, where he teaches English as a second language. Goldstein’s school is one of 25 overcrowded schools in the 26th school district, and has a utilization rate of 207 percent, according to a 2018 Department of Education ...

  • The Fading Promise of Property Tax Reform

    may bdb cc speaker corey jo

    (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Despite promising that in his second term he would take on the challenge of property tax reform, Mayor de Blasio appears to be shying away as many leaders have done many times before.

    New York City government is extremely dependent upon its property tax, which will generate roughly $30 billion this coming fiscal year, more than any other single revenue source. Not surprisingly, New Yorkers gripe about their property taxes almost as much as about the subways.

    The laws and methods

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  • The Rainy Day Fund New York Needs

    mayor bdb fiscal year budget

    (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    With so much attention focused on the mayor’s presidential campaign, rent regulation renewal, and the state of the transit system, most New Yorkers are unaware they will have the opportunity this fall to vote to dramatically change their city government.

    The 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission is considering what amendments to the City Charter, which defines the structure and powers of city government, it will recommend to voters for a yes or no vote on the November ballot. Notable

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  • Taxi Medallion Exposé Drives Home Key Budget Lesson

    medallions oped

    (Photo: Ed Reed/City Council)


    Last week, the New York Times published another blockbuster investigative series by reporter Brian Rosenthal, this time on the misleading and predatory practices which led to inflated prices of New York City yellow taxi medallions over the last decade.

    The compelling stories of taxi drivers who thought they were buying into the American dream by purchasing taxi medallions, only to find their incomes drastically

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  • What’s the [DATA] Point? 1.28 Cents, the Prospect of a Vehicle-Miles Traveled Fee to Fund Transit Infrastructure

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 74 -- 1.28 cents, Patrick Orecki [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    patrick orecki cbcNew York State is underfunding upkeep of its roads and bridges to the tune of billions of dollars a year. There are several reasons for this, and potential fixes, including a vehicle-miles traveled fee, which

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  • De Blasio's Budget Savings Plan Contains Few Real Efficiencies, Experts Say

    Mayor de Blasio city budget executive plan

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio’s much-touted budget savings program is not what he has made it seem.

    After rapidly growing the budget over his first five years in office and resisting calls to find significant efficiencies at city agencies, de Blasio this year instituted his first “program to eliminate the gap,” or PEG, to achieve hundreds of millions of dollars in “savings.” But though the mayor boasted at his executive budget presentation of $916 million in

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  • Former City Taxi Commissioner on Regulating the App Companies and Saving the Yellows

    Meera Joshi taxis

    Meera Joshi, right, at a rally (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Meera Joshi’s five-year tenure as the head of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission coincided with a tumultuous time for the industry she was tasked with overseeing and regulating. Joshi, who left the de Blasio administration in March, joined the What’s The [Data] Point? podcast from Citizens Budget Commission and Gotham Gazette to

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  • What's the [Data] Point? 125,323, with Former Taxi Commissioner Meera Joshi

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 73 -- 125,323, Meera Joshi, former chair of the city's Taxi & Limousine Commission [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    wtdp meera joshiMeera Joshi was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2014 to chair the city's Taxi & Limousine Commission, which sets rules for and has oversight over the city's taxi

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  • There's Plenty of Money in the MTA Capital Plan, It's Just Not Being Spent

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    Gov. Cuomo inspects track work (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    The subway (plan) is delayed again.

    While subway service has improved since the nadir that led to the current (and controversial) “state of emergency,” it’s obvious to anyone who rides the system enough or just watches the New York City Transit Twitter feed that there’s still a ways to go before everything is at or near full strength.

    But while the Metropolitan

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  • A Lion of City Government Issues a Warning

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    Stan Brezenoff, middle (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The dramatic growth in the size and cost of city government since Mayor de Blasio took office has been of concern to budget watchdogs: the number of city employees has grown by 35,000 and total annual spending by more than $20 billion since 2014.

    The mayor’s latest budget presentation, delivered last week, came with talk of fiscal prudence, but assuaged few fears, including those of an unexpected new source adding his voice to those warning about the city’s long-term

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  • What's The [Data] Point? $92.5 Billion, Breaking Down the Mayor's Executive Budget

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 72 -- $92.5 Billion, The Mayor's Executive Budget - with Yoav Gonen of THE CITY [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    yoav wtdpJournalist and city budget expert Yoav Gonen of the news website THE CITY joined the podcast to discuss Mayor Bill de Blasio's recently-released $92.5 billion Executive Budget plan

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  • Uncertain Future for Secretive State Pork Program Tied to Renegade Democrats

    cuomo klein via gov

    Cuomo and Klein (photo: governor's office)


    Few New York residents have probably heard of the State and Municipal Facilities Program, or SAM, but in recent years, it has been one of the top avenues by which state lawmakers “bring home the bacon,” providing many millions of dollars in funding for district projects. Otherwise known as “pork,” these projects include things like new or renovated parks, schools, libraries, and more, with far greater funding going to legislators based on their political power.

    However, in this year’s

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  • City Council Fire Department Proposals Don't Match Need for Reform

    mayorcommappleton

    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Last week the City Council presented its response to Mayor de Blasio’s preliminary budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. It proposes to add $1.5 billion in annual operating expenditures and more than $1 billion in capital spending to the budget proposed by the mayor. Among the proposals are four that would significantly increase spending on the Fire Department and for which there is no clear justification other than political expediency. Two of them would not only be expensive, but would

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  • What's The [Data] Point? $175.5 Billion, Breaking Down the New State Budget

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 70 -- $175.5 billion, Breaking Down the New State Budget, with Dave Friedfel and Patrick Orecki of CBC [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    cuomo state budgetNew York State has a brand new $175.5 billion budget for the fiscal year that began April 1. Citizens Budget Commission experts

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  • What's The [Data] Point? 5, with former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 69 -- 5, with former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen[You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    Alicia Glen was Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development under Mayor Bill de Blasio for more than five years, until she recently left the administration after being the chief architect of its signature affordable housing plan, a broad variety of economic development initiatives, and more. Glen joined the podcast (for the second

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