The Buffalo Chronicle
Empire Center for Public Policy
-
Pay freeze for State workers extended again—temporarily
BY E.J. McMAHON The Cuomo administration is quietly extending a temporary freeze on scheduled pay hikes for about 135,000 unionized state government employees and public college faculty members—although the largest affected labor…
-
Top construction official’s charges are an indictment of Cuomo’s policies
BY KEN GIRARDIN Yesterday’s indictment of New York’s top construction union official on federal corruption charges raises a big question: if private companies are paying bribes to avoid having to work with certain construction…
-
FDNY adds more $200K pensions as new career retirees average $140K
More than three-quarters of last year’s retirees from the City of New York’s Fire Department (FDNY) were eligible for six-figure pensions, with 40 of them eligible for pensions over $200,000 according to…
-
In New York, private job count down 1.1 million from pre-pandemic level
BY E.J. McMAHON Six months into the novel coronavirus pandemic, New York State’s private-sector employment recovery was the slowest in the 48 contiguous states—and getting slower. The latest monthly jobs report from the state…
-
What happens if teachers go on strike?
BY KEN GIRARDIN New York’s largest teachers union this summer threatened to go on strike rather than allow schools to reopen for in-person classes—despite months of preparation by officials and a state…
-
New Yorkers paid less in federal taxes in first year of new tax law
BY E.J. McMAHON Federal income taxes paid by New Yorkers decreased by nearly $3.4 billion in 2018, the first year of the new federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), according to newly…
-
Empire Center sues DOT for hiding study
The Empire Center for Public Policy today announced its lawsuit against the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) for refusing to disclose a study DOT claims justified forcing bidders to sign…
-
State dormitory authority dished out $152 million in pork last year
New York’s governor and state lawmakers dished out $152 million for local projects favored by state lawmakers through the state Dormitory Authority during the state’s 2020 fiscal year, according to data posted today on…
-
HAMMOND: Cuomo administration ducks important questions on nursing homes
BY BILL HAMMOND A new report from the state Health Department tries to deflect blame for thousands of coronavirus deaths in the state’s nursing homes—but undermines its own case by withholding data…
-
New data confirm New York State’s Q1 economic plunge
BY E.J. McMAHON New York’s economy ended the first quarter of this year in virtual free fall, the latest federal data show. The Empire State’s real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 8.2…
-
NYC led the latest state population drop
BY E.J. McMAHON For a second consecutive year, New York’s population loss was mainly concentrated downstate, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates. During the 12-month period ending last July 1, the…
-
What 2019’s census data tells us about New York
BY E.J. McMAHON The final set of pre-pandemic U.S. Census population data for cities, towns and villages provides localized details on a familiar New York pattern: widespread decline upstate, and a few…
-
DASNY dished out $152 million in pork last year
New York’s governor and state lawmakers dished out $152 million for local projects favored by state lawmakers through the state Dormitory Authority during the state’s 2020 fiscal year, according to data posted today on…
-
NYSERDA must reveal secret study, Judge rules
Ruling in favor of the Empire Center, a state Supreme Court judge in Albany has ordered the Cuomo administration’s energy and environmental agencies to release a supposedly incomplete “comprehensive study” of how…
-
Empire Center announces ‘DeregulateNY’ contest
The Empire Center today kicked off DeregulateNY, a web-based contest inviting users to identify the the most needlessly expensive and restrictive rules imposed on people offering goods and services in New York State.…
-
SeeThroughNY updated with latest union contracts
New York’s most comprehensive online database of state and local government union contracts has been updated with the latest collective bargaining agreements for local teachers, police and firefighters. Among the 211 new local government and school district…
-
Property tax bills vary widely across New York State
Residents of the Mid-Hudson village of Liberty had the highest effective property tax rate in New York (outside New York City and Nassau) during fiscal year 2019, according to the newest edition…
-
Double-dippers increased by 10% last year
BY CAITLIN GILLIGAN The number of state and local government early retirees collecting both a paycheck and public pension grew by 10 percent last year, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s…
-
State Authorities’ payroll data added to SeeThroughNY
The latest payroll data for a total of 13,615 employees at 54 different New York State public authorities was posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Among public authorities closest to the governor’s…
-
Empire Center ranks local taxes, spending, and debt across New York
This week, the Empire Center for Public Policy released its annual Benchmarking New York report, comparing and ranking government tax, spending and debt levels for hundreds of counties, towns, cities and villages throughout New York. The…
