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A year ago this week, with the start of the New York State's 2021 fiscal year just over a month away, it became unmistakably clear that the spread of the Wuhan, China, coronavirus was about to clobber the global economy, disrupt public finances and upend Governor Cuomo's original budget calculations. Read More

Sharp reductions in state funding for core public health functions over the past decade may have weakened New York’s defenses against the coronavirus pandemic, according to testimony delivered today by Bill Hammond, the Empire Center’s senior fellow for health policy. Read More

The past year has taught a painful lesson about the importance of public health defenses, not just in terms of preventing sickness and death, but also preserving our economy and way of life. Read More

As Medicaid costs spiraled over the past decade, other parts of the state Health Department were losing money and staff—leaving New York with diminished public health resources when the pandemic struck last year. Read More

“The economies of New York City and State will recover eventually—but how strongly, and how soon, are open questions. In the meantime, the Legislature’s guiding principal can be summed up in five words: don’t push more taxpayers away.” Read More

In economic terms, the coronavirus pandemic has been the most disruptive event to hit New York and the nation since the Great Depression in the early 1930s.  While New Yorkers hope to resume to some semblance of normal life by summer, the fiscal hangover for the state and its local governments will linger for years.  Read More

In further compliance with a court order obtained by the Empire Center, the Health Department has provided data on an additional 949 pandemic deaths in New York long-term care facilities. Read More

Unfortunately, instead of learning from devastating policy mistakes, Governor Cuomo's Health Department continues to misrepresent the truth.  Read More