New data released this morning show that inequality is rising in New York, with income gains for the state’s richest residents driving statewide wage growth well above the national average.
Pollster used discredited Republican talking points on OBBBA
3.5 million New Yorkers – 18 percent of the state population – depend on SNAP benefits, which average $209 per month for a participant (about $2,500 per year). The OBBBA would threaten SNAP benefits for over 1 million New Yorkers, including 363,000 children.
The OBBBA spending cuts are concentrated in Medicaid and food stamps (SNAP), with devastating effects for New Yorkers. The bill will cost the New York State government $15.4 billion annually and kick 1.5 million New Yorkers off their health insurance, more than doubling the statewide uninsured population.
Rent Guidelines Board votes to lower range of possible rent increases for 2-year leases Download the Slides Watch the Testimony Last Thursday, FPI’s Chief Economist, Emily Eisner, testified to the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) of New York City, at the invitation of one of the Board’s Tenant members, Adán Soltren. Dr. Eisner's testimony made the case that current economic conditions and uncertainty regarding federal housing and safety-net policy demand that the RGB [...]
Budget agreement includes serious fiscal missteps that will undermine the State’s ability to weather federal funding cuts
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) houses over 500,000 New Yorkers and receives a majority of its funding from the federal government, leaving it especially at risk of impending federal budget cuts. New York State must be prepared to fill gaps in both the operating funding and capital funding for NYCHA.
The proposed “inflation rebate” will not offset NY’s cost-of-living squeeze
Governor Hochul today released her executive budget for fiscal year 2026, which reflects an overdue recognition of the State’s strong fiscal position and capacity for making new public investments in order to ease cost of living pressures for working New Yorkers.
The governor's policy agenda lacks a strategy for structural reforms to lower the cost of living
The Superfund is a fiscally sound mechanism for upgrading our statewide infrastructure in the face of urgent climate challenges, and FPI commends the governor and legislature for successfully working together to enact it.
Last month, both the Senate and Assembly of the New York State legislature passed the Climate Change Superfund Act (S.02129). The Act, first introduced during the FY 2022 budget cycle, would require the largest fossil fuel companies to pay a total of $75 billion — to be paid over 25 years in $3 billion annual increments — to New York State.
The First Quarterly Update to the State’s financial plan indicates the State remains on strong fiscal footing, with modestly higher revenue than projected in the Enacted Budget financial plan and lower spending than expected. Measured as a share of total state personal income, State spending is set to fall, and is on par with its fiscal year 2016 level.
Governor Hochul’s directive to the MTA to 'indefinitely pause' planned congestion pricing for New York City, and her proposed alternative revenue sources, are ill-advised tax and economic policy.
Governor Hochul’s directive to the MTA to 'indefinitely pause' planned congestion pricing for New York City, and her proposed alternative revenue sources, are ill-advised tax and economic policy.