Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

State Budget

State Budget

  • The Governor’s Budget Threat to New York’s Most Vulnerable

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    New York State is at a crossroads when it comes to caring for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). Government officials have a choice to continue divesting from the system leading to irreparable harm for our most vulnerable citizens or they can right the ship by maintaining the investment in the organizations providing support to the majority of individuals in the state with I/DD.

    One such group of organizations is Care Coordinated

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  • New York’s Next Shot to Strengthen Our Democracy

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    The State Senate chamber (photo: Edwin J. Torres/ Mayoral Photo Office)


    American democracy is suffering a crisis of confidence. In too many states, the very mechanics of elections has become a partisan and polarizing issue, with deeply damaging results. This year New York has the chance to model a path forward, with a bipartisan commitment to strengthening democracy and providing the best possible systems for our citizens to be heard. 

    As appointees to the state’s new Public Campaign Finance Board, that commitment is

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  • To Avoid More Cuomo 'Supplanting,' De Blasio Pushes for Direct Aid to New York City in Next Federal Package

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    Mayor de Blasio & Governor Cuomo (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor's Office)


    With so much on the line, Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing leaders in Washington, D.C. to allocate direct aid to New York City in the next big federal stimulus package, currently being negotiated among President Joe Biden and members of Congress. At the same time, de Blasio is calling on the State Legislature to help him stop Governor Andrew Cuomo from continuing to syphon off hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid coming through Albany.

    Both de Blasio and Cuomo have said

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  • Legislators and CUNY Chancellor Discuss University Funding, Recovery Plans Amid Massive Covid Disruption

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    Queens College (photo: CUNY)


    At the State Legislature’s recent budget hearing on higher education, held virtually on February 4, City University of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Félix Matos Rodriguez discussed his asks for CUNY funding and answered questions about the university’s spending, programs, and operational plans.

    The hearing was the sixth in a series of 13 on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s fiscal year 2021-2022

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  • De Blasio Warns of Cuomo Budget Moves, Outlines Albany Agenda in Final State Legislative Hearing

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    Mayor de Blasio testifying remotely (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded to state legislators on Thursday to protect New York City from hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts and cost shifts in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget for the next fiscal year, warning that the damage could be worse if federal stimulus aid is not delivered on time.  

    In his annual, and final, appearance before the state Legislature to testify about the governor’s budget plan and the

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  • Biden Plan Gives New York State a Two-Year Reprieve from a Damaged Budget

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    Joe Biden and Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)


    President Biden’s stimulus package is proceeding down the legislative path in Congress. This is great news for New York residents and for New York governments’ beleaguered budgets. The $1.9 trillion plan includes $350 billion for State and Local Governments, Tribes, and Territories.

    The monies will likely be apportioned in a manner similar to the earlier stimulus package,

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  • WATCH: Democratic Mayoral Candidates Outline Their Albany Agendas

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     l-r (top): Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, Carlos Menchaca; bottom: Shaun Donovan, Dianne Morales, Loree Sutton, Eric Adams


    Eight leading Democratic mayoral candidates appeared in two sessions at the "Albany Agenda" forum hosted by Empire State Indivisible and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. The candidates — Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, Carlos Menchaca, Shaun Donovan, Eric Adams, Dianne Morales, and Loree Sutton — discussed their state policy agendas and how they would navigate the processes, politics, and

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  • New Federal Aid Can’t Diminish New York State’s Responsibility to Our Children

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    Gov. Cuomo visits a school (photo: governor's office)


    Thanks to the election of the Biden-Harris ticket and a newly Democratic U.S. Congress, New York can expect much more favorable treatment in any new federal pandemic relief program than it would have received from the Trump administration or Republican Congress.

    But however much New York gets from the federal government in the coming months, it won’t be enough for our public school children if the state uses that federal aid to replace rather than add to the state’s own funding of our

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  • What's The [DATA] Point? $7.4 Billion, Examining the Governor's Executive Budget

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 101 -- $7.4 Billion, with EJ McMahon  [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    $7.4 billion is how much New York State personal income tax was paid in 2018 by residents of other states. This revenue stream may be threatened if a lawsuit over taxation of out-of-state telecommuting residents prevails. Today's guest, the Empire Center’s E.J. McMahon, explains why this lawsuit is so important, and also

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Liz Krueger on New York’s Finances

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    Senator Liz Krueger (photo: NY Senate)


    January 20, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Liz Krueger on New York’s Finances

    State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat who chairs the Senate's finance committee, joined the show to discuss the state's fiscal picture, the governor's new executive budget plan, aid from Washginton, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMaxand @JarrettMurphy. You

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  • 'Asking for Fairness from Washington,' Cuomo Presents Budget Vision with $15 Billion from Feds

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Don Pollard/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    When Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his executive budget on Tuesday, a $193-billion roadmap for the next fiscal year, beginning April 1, he presented a forked road towards the state's economic recovery with Washington lawmakers essentially behind the wheel.

    Under the "worst-case scenario" outlined by the New York State Division of the Budget, the state would get just $6 billion to fill a $15 billion hole covering the rest of this fiscal year and next, out of a

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  • Chuck Schumer's Moment

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    U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (photo: governor's office)


    With Democrats poised to win both seats in the Georgia United States Senate runoffs, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is poised to be one of the most influential elected officials in the country, with enormous implications for his home state and city. After four years leading the minority conference, Schumer is on the verge of being able to set the agenda in the Senate under Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and in partnership with a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives under Speaker Nancy

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  • New York State Has the Resources to Halt Billions in Scheduled Budget Cuts and Reset Next Year’s Framework

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    The Governor and Budget Director (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    Everyone is bracing for another difficult year, including economically, in the City and the State of New York. The financial difficulties presented by the pandemic are plain to see, including massive unemployment, a state of near emergency for the mass transit system, the decimation of small businesses, and so much more on top of the staggering loss of life.

    But the financial outlook for the City and State is not as bleak as first thought. There are still difficult challenges

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  • New York Looks to Georgia with Senate Control and Much More on the Line

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    Senator Schumer and Governro Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election brought the collective nightmare of the Democratic Party to an end after four years. But the celebration was muted given the party’s majority in the House of Representatives diminished and, more importantly, the fate of the U.S. Senate remained undecided despite grand Democratic hopes for taking the chamber. The near- and long-term implications for New York are immense given the size of the federal aid package that it -- including state and

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  • The Status of $6.5 Billion in Federal Covid Aid to New York City and State as End-of-Year Spending Deadline Looms

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    Gov. Cuomo at a covid briefing (photo: Governor's Office)


    New York City has spent its entire $1.4 billion allocation from the Coronavirus Relief Fund, a key portion of the federal CARES Act relief package that expires at the end of the month. The state government is far from spending its own, much larger allotment from the fund, but officials say it will identify eligible spending without having to return money to the federal government.

    Many other states and localities have been struggling to distribute the funding, wrangling with strict

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  • MTA’s ‘Worst Case’ is Really a Massive $23 Billion Deficit Through 2024

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    Governor Cuomo at an MTA train depot (photo: governor's office)


    New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is facing the largest fiscal crisis in its history due to COVID-19. With more federal aid not forthcoming, the MTA has been buying time – quite literally, by borrowing up to $2.9 billion from the Federal Reserve – before the axe will need to fall on service and its workforce. The MTA’s Chief Financial Officer, Bob Foran, said that layoffs would need to start

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  • ‘Hanging On’ is Not a Management Strategy

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography)


    As required by the state Financial Control Act, last Monday Mayor de Blasio presented a modification of New York City’s current fiscal year budget and four-year financial plan. This “first quarter mod” is usually a no-drama, technical adjustment that makes few substantive changes to the budget adopted at the

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  • Trump Decimated Refugee Admittance; Biden Promises Massive Expansion — What it Means in New York

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    A New York City rally in support of asylum-seeking refugees (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    As part of a systematic dismantling of providing asylum to refugees in the United States, the Trump administration in October 2020 reduced the cap on resettling refugees in the country to just 15,000 for fiscal year 2021, which runs from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, down from 18,000 for fiscal year 2020, and from 85,000 in the last year of the Obama administration.

    These reductions have a significant impact not only on those seeking refuge in the United

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  • The State Must Step In Now to Avoid a Mass Transit Apocalypse

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    Governor Cuomo on the subway (photo: governor's office)


    Hope that Congress can enact a post-election stimulus package to aid the economy amid another explosion of coronavirus cases has narrowed. One major institution in New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), is now out of time to get help. It is therefore necessary for New York State to step up and rescue the MTA before it begins a series of wrenching cutbacks that could permanently harm the New York region. The

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  • City Identifies Potential Sites to Relocate Manhattan NYPD Tow Pound, Requests State Waiver on Fines

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    google view entrance of tow pound


    As a state-imposed deadline approaches for relocating a massive NYPD tow pound at Pier 76 in Manhattan, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has requested the state waive fines that would be imposed if it fails to complete the task while the city continues to look at alternate sites for towing operations in the borough. The city may even have found a target Manhattan site owned by the state.

    In the state budget this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed through a provision that requires the NYPD to vacate its 250,000-square-foot tow

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  • What's At Stake for New York City in the 2020 Presidential Election

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    Joe Biden, with Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)


    The country will be watching, and voting, with bated breath on Tuesday as the most consequential presidential election in decades nears conclusion. More than 84 million Americans have already cast their ballots in early voting and turnout is expected to break records despite the lingering coronavirus pandemic. 

    There’s much at stake for New York City in this election and it’s an understatement

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  • Could a Tax on Stock Trading Help New York Fill Its Massive Budget Hole?

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    Gov. Cuomo at the New York Stock Exchange (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    This story was published in partnership with New York Focus, an independent, investigative news publication covering New York state and city politics, as part of its launch.
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    As the pandemic roiled markets in the spring, New York recorded surging revenue from an obscure

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  • The Mayor and Governor Must Save Community Nonprofits to Save Lives and Livelihoods

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    Essential workers need help (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The COVID-19 pandemic is not just a medical problem—it's a social one. As everyone knows, it is caused by the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. But it is fueled by inequity. Black and Latino New Yorkers have been twice as likely to die from COVID-19 as their white neighbors because of a raft of social factors: People of color are more likely to live in

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Senator Gianaris on Next Steps in New York's Recovery

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    State Senator Michael Gianaris (photo: Senator Michael Gianaris' office)


    September 23, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Senator Gianaris on Next Steps in New York's Recovery

    State Senator Michael Gianaris of Queens joined the show to discuss next steps in reopening the New York economy, how the State Senate Democratic majority is thinking about addressing the state and city fiscal crises, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter ...

  • New York Should Borrow to Plug Covid Budget Holes, But Not from Private Investors

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    Mayor de Blasio at a budget presentation (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson are aggressively lobbying the state Legislature to authorize the City of New York to borrow billions of dollars from private financial markets by selling municipal bonds through the Transitional Finance Authority.

    Governor Andrew Cuomo also recently announced that if the federal government does not step up with stimulus money for New York, he is also open to borrowing money for our state.

    Unfortunately, most

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