What's The Data Point

$175.2 billion is the size of Governor Cuomo's proposed budget for fiscal year 2020. CBC President Andrew Rein joined the podcast to help unpack the proposed budget.

2,268 is the average daily number of people in adult psychiatric centers in New York State, a decrease from a peak of more than 93,000 people in 1955. Stephen Eide, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses the impacts of deinstitutionalization in New York.

18.6% is the poverty rate in New York City. Greg David and Cara Eisenpress, both from Crain's New York Business and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, discuss their recent reporting exploring New York City's safety net, how it's funded, and how it compares to other places (hint: a lot better).

The data point for today is 1981, the year in which the State Legislature enacted S7000A, the landmark bill that formalized the current property tax system for New York City. A response to the Hellerstein case, which found the system was in violation of State law, S7000A essentially codified the status quo. In doing so, it established a system of property classification, fractional assessments, caps, phase-ins, and class shares that is still with us 37 years later. These structural features and statutory requirements are the root of the system’s inequities and complexities. A home worth $500,000 can face the same tax bill as a home worth $1.5 million, while the value of a condominium unit, according to the City, is a fraction of its sale price. In fact, some buildings have values that are below the sale price of individual units. And commercial and rental property faces a higher average property tax burden than 1-, 2- and 3-family homes. These inequities and problems have led to repeated calls for reform, i

3 is the number of proposals on the November 6 ballot from Mayor de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission. In this episode Commission Chair Cesar Perales discusses the proposed amendments.

8 is the number of years Andrew Cuomo has served as the 56th Governor of New York State. CBC's David Friedfel and Patrick Orecki join the podcast to discuss the demographic, fiscal, and policy trends of the last 8 years.

90% is the share of NYCHA units CBC estimates may not be cost effective to repair by 2027 under the current trajectory of deterioration. NYCHA Interim Chair and CEO Stan Brezenoff joined CBC to discuss the policy and funding challenges facing NYCHA, and how he plans to tackle key areas in desperate need of improvement.

45 is the number of agencies that submitted performance metrics to the recently released Mayor's Management Report. Agencies organize their reports according to service areas and goals, and present the indicators to help the public understand agency performance. NYC's Deputy Mayor of Operations Laura Anglin joined the podcast to discuss how the city uses data to improve the operations and performance of key city agencies.

3.1 miles is the length of the newly constructed Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. At a cost of $4 billion dollars, the bridge was financed with debt, but no new tolls have been announced to repay it. CBC's Patrick Orecki explains why the toll may need to double from current rates.

Since Bloomberg Associates was launched in 2014, participating cities have invested more than $1 billion in initiatives supported or created by the philanthropic consultancy. Former NYC Deputy Mayor and Bloomberg Associates Principal Linda Gibbs joins the podcast to talk about her work using data to effect change in NYC and other cities.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan to close the jails on Rikers Island, in part by reducing the overall city jail population to 5,000 detainees, down from about 8,200 now, which is down from well over 20,000 two decades ago. Liz Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, joined the podcast to discuss the closure of Rikers and the administration’s other criminal justice policies.

1 - As in the first ever female Attorney General in New York State. Barbara Underwood was serving as Solicitor General when she was made the Acting Attorney General in May 2018 and was appointed by the Legislature to the position later that month. This podcast features her remarks at a CBC breakfast discussing the agenda of the Office of the Attorney General under her leadership.

$89.16 billion is the size of the Adopted Budget for FY 2019. After adjusting for prepayments in prior years and other reserves and spending, the total value of spending is $92 billion. This episode features a panel of fiscal experts hosted by the Association for a Better New York. Listen as they discuss the risks in this budget, the level of reserves needed, and NYC's fiscal outlook at large.

$17 billion is the preliminary budget for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2019, an increase of 2.1% from 2018. CBC's Director of Infrastructure Studies Jamison Dague breaks down the preliminary budget and discusses looming risks, such as subway car reliability and progress of the various "action plans" put in place this year.

7.42% is the compounded salary and wage increases for members of DC37, the City’s largest municipal union for civilian workers, under a new contract that sets the pattern for negotiations with other labor unions. NYC Labor Commissioner Bob Linn joins the podcast to discuss this deal, the dynamics of negotiating with the public workforce, and why health insurance is an area long overdue for savings.

$31.8 billion is the amount required to repair NYCHA's public housing units over the next five years. CBC Senior Research Associate Sean Campion discuss the findings and recommendations of CBC's recent report on NYCHA's capital needs and explains how NYCHA got into such a deep hole and and how it can start to dig out.

1,441 is the number of overdose fatalities in New York City in 2017. NYC Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary Bassett discusses Healing NYC, a new program designed to combat the opioid health crisis, as well as neighborhood health clinics, lead testing at NYCHA and more.

75% is the share of jobs gained since the recession in the NYC metropolitan region that were created in New York City, a datapoint revealed in a forthcoming report from the Department of City Planning. Marisa Lago, Director of the Department and Chair of the City Planning Commission, joined CBC to discuss some of the report's findings as well as neighborhood revitalization, housing affordability, and resiliency and sustainability.

$225 billion is the total amount added to reserves and the retiree health benefits trust fund in the recently adopted budget. In contrast, the City added more than $2 billion in new spending, far outpacing what was set aside. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer joined the podcast to discuss the adequacy of the City's reserves, agency spending, and other issues

2020 is the year of the next Census, a national survey that determines the number of seats each state is allocated in the House of Representatives, and informs policy and funding decisions at all levels of government. Phil Thompson, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives, is in charge of coordinating the City's public outreach in the months leading up to the Census. The Deputy Mayor joined the podcast to discuss the importance of Census outreach and the many other initiatives he is spearheading.