What's The [DATA] Point

$88.2 billion is the size of the NYC budget adopted for FY 2021. After years of economic expansion, this is the first budget Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson negotiated in a recession. CBC's Ana Champeny joined the podcast to discuss why this is just the first of many tough choices facing City leaders.

70 million is the number of free meals distributed by the NYC since mid-March, when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Today we talk to members of the public and private sector teams that made this success happen: Sanitation Commissioner and "Food Czar" Kathryn Garcia, and Cas Holloway of Unqork, the enterprise software company that developed an app virtually overnight.

1975 is the year NYC found itself on the verge of municipal bankruptcy. How did the City turn around its fortunes? We present CBC's special panel discussion, "Sages of the Ages." Five New York fiscal experts--Steve Berger, Stan Brezenoff, Gene Keilin, Dick Ravitch, and Alair Townsend-- describe how they helped the City navigate through the fiscal crisis and explain what they think we'll need to do...

$7.4 billion -- the two-year tax revenue shortfall for the City of New York revealed when Mayor Bill de Blasio released the Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2021 last month. In this episode we hear from the person who will help guide NYC through one of its greatest fiscal challenges, NYC Budget Director Melanie Hartzog.

2020. Welcome to the new decade! It’s Andrew Cuomo’s 10th year as Governor, Bill de Blasio’s 7th year as Mayor, and it promises to be a busy year in New York politics. Alyssa Katz of The City and Laura Nahmias of the Daily News Editorial Board discuss policy priorities as the State and City legislative sessions begin.

6 months is the time the New York City Housing Authority has to develop a reorganization plan. In this episode NYCHA Chair & CEO Greg Russ discusses working with the federal monitor to facilitate change, working with residents to instill confidence, and what needs to happen at NYCHA to make it a high-performing agency that can ably serve its 380,000 residents.

7 days since the start of budget season, which commenced this year with the New York City Preliminary Budget released on January 16th. The State Budget, released just yesterday, may have a significant impact on the City’s finances this year: with the State facing a large budget gap, the Executive Budget proposes reorganizing school aid formulas and restructuring the local obligation with respect t...

$28.8 billion is the cumulative four-year budget gap facing New York State between fiscal years 2020 and 2023. CBC President Andrew Rein joined the podcast to explain how the State should get its fiscal house in order. And for a special treat, CBC's Andrew Perry and Ana Champeny discuss regional economic development and NYC property taxes. Happy Holidays!

275 is the number of meetings Veronica Vanterpool has attended since she was appointed to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She is one of four individuals appointed by the Mayor to the 21 member board. She joined the pod to discuss her time on the board, the important challenges facing the MTA, and more.

$15 billion is the CBC's estimate of the three-year revenue shortfall for New York City government in a recession. First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan joined CBC President Andrew Rein for a wide-ranging discussion about the City's budget, closing Rikers, access to hydropower, NYC's competitiveness, and more.

$81.3 billion the amount of tax revenue New York State will collect in fiscal year 2020⁠—46 percent of all resources in the $176 billion New York State budget. Michael Schmidt, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, joined the podcast to parse the details on the State’s tax base and taxation policies.

5 is the number of questions on the ballot for New Yorkers this November. The ballot questions are the product of a year-long review of the NYC Charter by the Charter Revision Commission. Two Commissioners—Carl Weisbrod and the Commission’s Chair Gail Benjamin—joined the pod to tell us more about these proposals.

$7.3 trillion is the total assets of the more than 3,000 insurance and financial institutions regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell discusses DFS' critical role as a regulator.

90% is the share of NYCHA units that are at risk of no longer being cost effective to repair by 2027 at the current rate of deterioration. NYCHA released a plan to address this in December 2018. CBC Senior Research Associate Sean Campion joins the pod to discuss progress, the urgency of success, and the dismal impact of failure.

16,000 is the number of New York City students in Gifted & Talented programs, which the School Diversity Advisory Group recommended phasing out. David Tipson, Executive Director of Appleseed, and City Council Member Robert Cornegy discuss the report’s findings and recommendations.

118,997 is the number of students enrolled in charter schools in NYC in 2019. That enrollment has grown 66 percent since 2014 and applications continue to surpass the number of available seats. James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, joined the pod to discuss the politics, policies, promises, and pitfalls of charter schools.

98,000 is the number of seats for public school students constructed by the NYC School Construction Authority - about twice as many as in Yankee Stadium. Riley Edwards discusses alternative strategies for solving the crowding problem.

$3.2 billion is the amount NYC spends on homeless services, double what was spent in 2014, earning the agencies providing these services a spot on NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer's Agency Watch List. Learn more about this list and the Comptroller's assessment of the City budget, rent regulation reform, and more.

6/15 is the date when NYS rent laws are set to expire. Strengthening rent regulation is a top priority for the Governor and state lawmakers in the closing days of the legislative session. Listen to REBNY President John Banks and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein share their perspectives.

1.28 cents is the amount New York collects in fuel taxes for every vehicle mile driven. A recent CBC report "Switching Gears" explored the implementation of an innovative approach to finance highway and bridge improvements: a vehicle-miles traveled fee. What’s a VMT, and how does it work? CBC's Patrick Orecki joined the podcast to discuss what a VMT might look like in New York.

125,323 is the number of vehicles licensed by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission in 2018. The dramatic rise of for-hire vehicles has posed new challenges, and at the forefront of using data to tackle these challenges was former TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi, now a visiting scholar at NYU Wagner.

$92.5 billion is the size of the NYC Executive Budget for FY 2020, an increase of 29% in total spending since Bill de Blasio's first year as Mayor. Joining the podcast to review budget highlights is Yoav Gonen, City Hall reporter for The City.

1,112,975 is the number of unique patients served by NYC Health + Hospitals in FY 2018. H+H is under fiscal pressure and projects cash loses in future years. Dr. Mitchell Katz joined the podcast to discuss his transformation plan to improve H+H's fiscal stability.

$175.5 billion, the size of the NYS Budget for FY 2020 enacted by the Legislature. The budget includes several notable policy changes, such as funding and new reforms at the MTA. CBC's David Friedfel and Patrick Orecki discuss the key takeaways.

5 is the number of years Alicia Glen was the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development under Mayor Bill de Blasio. She joins the podcast to reflect on her tenure as Deputy Mayor, the state of the city in 2014, where it stands now, and where it should be heading.