Citizens Budget Commission

We sat down with New York City Deputy Mayors Maria Torres-Springer, Meera Joshi, and Ana Almanzar to discuss how the Adams Administration is addressing the housing crisis, modernizing aging infrastructure, and focused on affordability.    With initiatives like the #CityofYes rezoning plan, vital investments in infrastructure, and the introduction of the True Cost of Living measure, these deputy mayors are teammates working together for current and future New Yorkers.    𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 5:20: City of Yes City Council vote  9:18: Remaining & needed 500,000 housing units  18:27: Tackling the climate crisis  46:57: Encouraging public service careers    Tune in to hear insights from these NYC leaders on building a more equitable, resilient city — and why you should consider a career in public service: https://lnkd.in/e-W3bVyK

The Citizens Budget Commission sat down with New York City Deputy Mayors Maria Torres-Springer, Meera Joshi, and Ana Almanzar to discuss how the Adams Administration is addressing the housing crisis, modernizing aging infrastructure, and focused on affordability.     With initiatives like the #CityofYes rezoning plan, vital investments in infrastructure, and the introduction of the True Cost of Living measure, these deputy mayors are teammates working together for current and future New Yorkers.     𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 5:20: City of Yes City Council vote   9:18: Remaining & needed 500,000 housing units   18:27: Tackling the climate crisis    46:57: Encouraging public service careers     Tune in to hear insights from these NYC leaders on building a more equitable, resilient city — and why you should consider a career in public service: https://lnkd.in/e-W3bVyK

New York City Deputy Mayors Maria Torres-Springer, Meera Joshi, and Ana Almanzar came on CBC’s WTDP podcast to discuss how the Adams Administration is addressing the housing crisis, modernizing aging infrastructure, and improving affordability.     Recently, the Adams administration scored an important victory as its City of Yes Plan for Housing Opportunity passed the City Council. While a critical step, there is much more to be done to solve our housing crisis. This plan will yield only one-fifth of New York City’s needed additional housing production—far from mission accomplished.     We hear from the 3 Deputy Mayors about how long-term coalition building will help move forward on building even more housing, as well as reducing red tape and future neighborhood rezoning plans.     Tune in to hear their insights on building a more equitable, resilient city: https://lnkd.in/e-W3bVyK

New York City’s workforce is growing again after four years of decline due to COVID. By the end of fiscal year 2024, the City’s on-board headcount increased 3,072 since the end of fiscal year 2023, and now is 306,248.     𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁?   NYC’s total headcount now surpasses fiscal year 2015 levels, which was near the midpoint of the last economic recovery.     𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗬𝟭𝟵 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗬𝟮𝟰:   Department of Education: Down 2% (-3,113)   NYPD: Down 10% (-5,086)   Department of Correction: Down 38% (-4,555)     Explore more staffing trends and agency-specific data with our dashboard: https://lnkd.in/ezuSu5rg

At CBC, we support a market-driven approach to reducing New York’s greenhouse gas emissions. Leveraging market forces well promotes cost effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. #Capandinvest can be a great approach, but only if done right. The implications of its design also must be transparent: How much will this cost New York’s families? How will it affects jobs in each area and the economy overall? New York needs a plan that balances environmental goals with economic realities, ensuring a greener future that supports our neighbors and strengthens our economy. https://lnkd.in/gGwiTYCJ 

Not as nice as jingling bells 🔔, the sound New Yorker knows too well: street construction outside your window. We support joint bidding because help helps those projects wrap up faster, with fewer disruptions—and at a lower cost. Joint bidding lets NYC bid out capital projects and related utility work simultaneously, cutting delays and saving money. The City Department of Design and Construction estimates this reduces utility-related delays from an average of 𝟮𝟴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟳 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀. Without joint bidding, contractors must negotiate directly with utility firms, causing long delays and higher costs. Joint bidding streamlines the process, benefiting the City and most importantly, New Yorkers. Learn more about how joint bidding can make NYC construction faster and less disruptive in our testimony to the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities: https://lnkd.in/d5NdDcR2 

Any New Yorker who’s lived with street construction outside their window can tell you the quicker the project is done, the better for everyone. That’s one reason the Citizens Budget Commission supports joint bidding, which not only speeds up City capital projects that require the disruption of utility lines but also lowers their costs.     Without joint bidding, City contractors must negotiate directly with utility firms, often causing months or years of delays and inflating costs. Joint bidding streamlines this process, benefiting the City and every New Yorker. Read more: https://lnkd.in/d5NdDcR2

GDC NY Co-Chair Alicia Glen is the latest guest on the Citizens Budget Commission podcast. She shares her insights on everything from the critical need for this project to support New York's growth to navigating the process to secure full funding for the HTP.     Listen to the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eXTpDyc  

Any New Yorker who’s lived with street construction outside their window can tell you the quicker the project is done, the better for everyone. That’s one reason the Citizens Budget Commission supports joint bidding, which not only speeds up City capital projects that require the disruption of utility lines but also lowers their costs.  Sean Campion, CBC’s Director of Housing and Economic Development Studies, testifies before the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities about the importance of joint bidding in improving the efficiency of New York City’s capital projects.   Joint bidding allows the City to bid out capital projects and related utility work simultaneously. This approach reduces delays, lowers costs, and minimizes disruptions for New Yorkers. A recent analysis by the Department of Design and Construction found that joint bidding cuts utility-related delays from an average of 28 months to just 7 months. Why does this matter? Without joint bidding, City contractors must negotiate directly with utility firms, often causing months or years of delays and inflating costs. Joint bidding streamlines this process, benefiting utility companies, the City and every New Yorker.   Read the full testimony to learn more about why we’re advocating for joint bidding—and how it’s a win-win-win for everyone involved: https://lnkd.in/d5NdDcR2

We are glad to see Office of the New York City Comptroller/Brad Lander's report released this week highlights two key issues with the City’s November financial plan: chronically underbudgeted costs and a lack of reserves deposits.  𝟭. 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀: The City continues to low-ball spending projections for several programs by more than $3 billion annually. Even assuming migrant spending is lower next year, CBC’s analysis shows the City will face future budgets gaps exceeding $8 billion annually, well above the $5.5 billion reported by the City.  𝟮. 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀: There are no deposits planned for the City’s rainy day fund.  CBC recommends depositing at least $1 billion into the rainy day fund over the next two years. This would ensure that New York City has the resources to maintain vital services during difficult times, without resorting to drastic budget cuts or tax increases. Read our City budget scorecard from June: https://lnkd.in/eidz-Q-v