Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. - New Yorkers across the political spectrum are considering leaving the state. A new finds that Republicans and independent voters most often cite taxes as the reason, while Read More

Albany steered $97.2 million to 206 local projects during the first half of 2026 in the newest batch of state discretionary grants, according to. The new tranche is the latest addition to the pork-barrel grant database the Empire Cen Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the fifth‑highest residential electricity prices in the country in June 2026, trailing only Hawaii, Calif Read More

Nine millionaires, all healthcare executives, emerged among the 88,228 New York public authority employees, according to, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The data includes payroll information from 385 different Read More

A total of 132 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible to collect $200,000 or more in pensions during the 2026 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Among the Read More

ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers gave the state’s education system a sweeping vote of no confidence: 47 percent said the state should improve student performance, 41 percent said it should improve performance while spending less, and o Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country in May 2026, trailing only Hawaii and California. The latest U.S. Energy Information Admin Read More

Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Th Read More

The pension plan covering most New York city government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 62 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website. According to Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers across political, geographic, age, and income groups oppose energy and climate policies that raise energy prices or force changes on homeowners, according to new Empire Center ana Read More

New York households are paying the fourth-highest electricity prices in the country, according to the Empire Center's In April 2026, residential electricity prices in New York averaged 29.45 cents per kilowatt-hour - 56 percent above the national av Read More

Fourteen retired New York City educators received more than $500,000 in pension benefits in 2025, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. The data was obtained from the New York City Teachers’ Retir Read More