What's The Data Point

1,039,069 is the number of kids under the age of five in New York who could ultimately qualify for free or subsidized childcare under the Hochul/Mamdani plan. How should the State and City design a flexible program that meets the needs of diverse families? How should it be phased? What does "universal" mean exactly? And what is the budget impact in an uncertain fiscal environment? To help answer these questions and more is Grace Rauh, Executive Director of Citizens Union and a long-time advocate for childcare reform in New York City.

1,143 is the number of days Camille Joseph Varlack served in city government as Chief of Staff, Deputy Mayor for Administration and briefly First Deputy Mayor during the Adam's administration. A good Chief of Staff can make an administration—but they're rarely in the spotlight. On this episode of What's the [DATA] Point, Joseph Varlack joins CBC's Andrew Rein to reflect on her successes and the challenges of continuing to deliver in choppy waters, talk about what a Chief of Staff actually does, and how to inspire the best and brightest to consider public service.

17 is the number of days, at the time of this conversation’s recording, before Dean Fuleihan becomes First Deputy Mayor for a second time. As Mayor-Elect Mamdani turns from campaigning to the practicalities of governing, First Deputy Mayor Fuleihan will be an expert hand involved in every step. On this episode of What’s the [DATA] Point, Fuleihan joined CBC’s Andrew Rein to talk about how to achieve the administration’s priorities, and what to do about the unexpected. The conversation ranged from the deteriorating condition of rent stabilized housing, to raising taxes in a city whose competitiveness is challenged by neighboring states, and delivering effective programs at a price point New Yorkers can afford.

51 is the number of members in the New York City Council. Six weeks before the Council was scheduled to vote on its next leader, Council Member Julie Menin announced herself the presumptive Speaker after garnering the support of a supermajority of her council colleagues. On this episode of What's the [DATA] Point, CM Menin joined CBC's Andrew Rein and New York Law School's Ben Max to discuss her broad vision for a proactive City Council, her working relationship with Mayor-Elect Mamdani in service of shared interests, the Council's role in prioritizing important programs with budget constraints, and much else besides.

791 is the number of staff the City Comptroller can employ for the vital task of auditing City agencies, managing the $306 billion pension fund, registering contracts, analyzing the budget, monitoring the economy—essentially serving as the people's check on the Mayor's office. This episode of What's the Data Point involves a conversation between the 'Three C's', NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, and NYC Comptroller-elect Mark Levine—with the former providing their guidance and wisdom, and the latter his plans for the office. Listen in for a robust chat on what shape the City budget and economy are in, what's coming down from the federal government, and how each thinks about the fiscal contours of Mayor-elect Mamdani's proposed affordability programs.

221 is the number of New Yorkers who joined CBC's Mayoral Smart Choices Half-Day Conference. In part 1 of a three-part series, a panel explores important question about the City's finances: how does the next mayor bring spending to sustainable levels and build the City’s reserves? What does fulsome preparation for federal cuts look like? How do labor deals balance fair compensation with fiscal reality? What tax policies will maintain the city’s attractiveness? - Louisa Chafee, Director, Independent Budget Office - Ana Champeny, Vice President for Research, CBC - Ken Girardin, Fellow, Manhattan Institute - Nathan Gusdorf, Executive Director, Fiscal Policy Institute - Ben Max (moderator), Program Director, Center for New York City and State Law at New York Law School

221 is the number of New Yorkers who joined CBC's Mayoral Smart Choices Half-Day Conference. In part 3 of a three-part series, a panel explores important questions on how to make the City affordable, safe, and livable. There are many competing needs, from boosting housing production to making childcare more affordable; providing fast, reliable public transit; delivering clean, safe and vibrant streets and high quality education. How do we achieve all this on a budget New York can afford? - Majora Carter, CEO, Majora Carter Group - Rafael Cestero, CEO, Community Preservation Corporation; former Commissioner, NYC HPD - Nicole Gelinas, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute - Elizabeth Glazer, Founder Vital City; former Dir. Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice - Alicia Glen (moderator), Founder and Managing Principal, MSquared; former Deputy

221 is the number of New Yorkers who joined CBC's Mayoral Smart Choices Half-Day Conference. In part 2 of a three-part series, a panel explores important questions about delivering services to New Yorkers: how do we ensure that the most high-quality and effective programs rise to the top and are managed well? How do we shrink what isn’t working even if it’s politically popular? - Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37 - Melanie Hartzog, President & CEO, The New York Foundling; former Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, and Budget Director - Meera Joshi, President, Green-Wood Cemetery; former Deputy Mayor for Operations - Anthony Shorris, Partner, McKinsey; former First Deputy Mayor - Andrew Rein (moderator), President, CBC

Fifty years ago today New York City came within hours of bankruptcy, one of the most significant events of the Fiscal Crisis. This episode features interviews with two of the era’s heroes—Stephen Berger, who served as Executive Director of the State Emergency Financial Control Board, and Eugene Keilin, Executive Director of the Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC). Learn how they and New Yorkers from government, the business community, and labor navigated the calamitous waters of default towards solvency—and what takeaways we can apply today.

2,500 is the number of uniformed officers NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch moved from behind desks to patrolling NYC streets since this past summer. The move helped drive down the number of serious crimes committed, though fear remains high: last winter before this effort, CBC surveyed New Yorkers and discovered that 42% felt their neighborhood is safe, and only 34% rated the City's quality of life as excellent or good. These pose a real vulnerability to NYC long-term economic health and appeal to businesses and residents. In this episode, CBC Chair Marissa Shorenstein sits down with Commissioner Tisch to dig into her policy prescriptions for public safety, quality of life, the federal government and more (plus some of her accomplishments as the former Sanitation Commissioner).

34% is the share of New Yorkers who now rate the city’s quality of life excellent or good in CBC's recent citywide survey "Straight from New Yorkers." This is substantially lower than the 51% who rated quality of life positively in 2017. At the same time, the competition with other places to attract and keep residents and business is fierce. In this episode, CBC brought together leaders from New York's business, labor, nonprofit, and real estate sectors to discuss the ways in which we can come together to make New York an affordable, competitive, and vibrant City. -Vincent Alvarez, President of The New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO -Wayne Ho, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese-American Planning Council -Jim Whelan, President of the Real Estate Board of New York -Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City -Moderated by CBC Vice Chair William Floyd, Senior Director, U.S. State and Local Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google You can learn more

48,000 is the number of new homes to be created when we add together the 40,000 that should be enabled by 5 neighborhood rezonings and the current proposed plan to redevelop the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. New York must dramatically increase housing production if it is going reduce its affordability problems and be in a strong competitive position to retain and attract residents, grow businesses, and create jobs. What else is New York City doing to boost housing production? How is the City working to attract businesses and grow high wage jobs? At a recent CBC event, Andrew Kimball, President and CEO of New York City’s Economic Development Corporation, and Dan Garodnick, Director of the Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission, joined CBC President Andrew Rein to answer these questions and more.

$280 billion is the total number of dollars held by New York City’s five pension funds over which the City Comptroller is custodian and investment adviser. The Comptroller plays a critical role in the City’s fiscal health, integrity, and accountability. In June, New Yorkers will head to the polls to choose who they want to guide them through the economically uncertain times ahead. Today's episode features a live debate between the two leading Comptroller candidates: Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Councilmember Justin Brannan.

$15 billion is the amount congestion pricing is expected to yield for MTA infrastructure investment—to bring trains, tracks, yards, and signals to a state of good repair, increase accessibility, and expand subway service. As congestion pricing is challenged by the Trump administration, this speaks to the larger question of the fiscal and regulatory relationship between the federal government and New York. In this episode we are joined by Polly Trottenberg, who served most recently as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation and before that as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation, as well as a board member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Polly brings her experience at both the federal and City level to unpack the future of transportation policy and funding.

$252 billion is the size of Governor Kathy Hochul’s New York State Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2026. It's a full $100 billion more than ten years ago. New York State and its localities are already #1 in taxes and #2 in spending nationwide. On today’s episode we talk with New York State’s Budget Director Blake G. Washington, to discuss whether taxes are too high, if New York should try to restrain spending growth, how the State is preparing for possible changes to federal aid, and more on affordability, education, Medicaid, and the MTA.

$35 billion is how much of the MTA's 5-year capital plan remains unfunded. Investing in the MTA’s crumbling infrastructure is one of the most important decisions Albany will make this year; New York's economy, quality of life, and the region's competitiveness depend on it. At a recent CBC event, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber sat down with CBC president Andrew Rein to talk about keeping the trains running on time, the potential risk to congestion pricing, funding the MTA’s capital plan, reducing fare evasion, MTA efficiency, relaxing discovery rules, and the public’s concern for their safety.

$16 billion is the estimated cost to build the new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. Decades of delays and funding spats ultimately led to the creation of the Gateway Development Commission, the bi-state entity responsible for making the tunnel a reality. Joining the podcast is Alicia Glen, co-Chair of the Gateway Development Commission, founder and managing principal of MSquared, and current CBC Trustee. Glen is also the chair of the Trust for Governors Island, and the former Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development during the de Blasio Administration.

80,000. That’s the number of additional new housing units the Adams’ Administration hopes will be developed over the next 15 years thanks to the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. The City Council votes this week on Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to tackle the housing crisis. However, that is not all that the Administration is focused on. Needed Infrastructure investment, improved contracting, implementing the now-charter mandated true cost of living, and so much more. In this new episode of WTDP, we chat with First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and Deputy Mayors Meera Joshi and Ana Almanzar who work as a part of the City Hall team to address these issues and more!

10 and 15 are the districts represented by New York Congressman Dan Goldman and Congressman Ritchie Torres. With a newly elected President and Congress, changes in federal policy, funding, and regulation will affect New York State and New York City. So, what are the opportunities and challenges ahead? Where can New York make common cause with others, and how can our congressional delegation work across the aisle? Listen as Congressmen Goldman and Torres help us understand more about what lies ahead.

97 - that's the number of days between this conversation and the release of the Governor's Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget. But how the State will close its $16 billion structural gap isn't the only important issue facing New York State. How will the State buttress resiliency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve student achievement (since it already spends 85% more per student than the national average), fund the MTA's next capital plan, hold the line on taxes, and deal with the City administration's current issues? Fortunately, we have Governor Hochul’s top 2 aides—Secretary to the Governor Karen Persichilli Keogh and Director of State Operations and Infrastructure Kathryn Garcia—on the Datapoint today to talk about these issues and more.