New York households pay some of the highest electricity prices in the nation, raising affordability concerns, according to the Empire Center's and the U.S. Energy Information Administration Read More
Press Releases
In response to Governor Hochul’s State of the State address and policy book, Empire Center experts issued the following reactions: On taxes: "Governor Hochul's promise to hold the line against tax hikes is crucial to restorin Read More
In the effort to improve transparency and accountability of New York’s education system, the Empire Center ha Read More
Pension payments to during fiscal year 2025 were added today to the Empire Center’s transparency website. The data primarily cover school support staff and administrative personnel. The BERS paid a total of $351 million in pension paym Read More
Newly retired1 “full career”2 members of the New York Police Department (NYPD) collected an average of $103,859, according to , the Empire Center’s transparency website. The data, received from the New Read More
The Empire Center is calling on the Hochul administration to promptly release records of its spring 2024 communications with Public Partnerships LLC, the company that later won a controversial $1 billion contract under Read More
With Long Island Rail Road workers threatening a strike that could strand hundreds of thousands of commuters, the Empire Center is publishing copies of the labor contracts at the heart of the dispute. Read More
New York City firefighters and fire officers retiring last year after full careers were entitled to average annual pension benefits of $171,336, up 13 percent from the prior year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
Eleven Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year as average pay surged nine percent, according to 2024 payroll , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
A total of 97 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible for pensions of $200,000 or more during the 2025 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Among the 97 reti Read More
The pension plan covering most New York City government agencies, including the City’s subway system, had 70 members with pension payments of at least $200,000 last year, almost quadrupling 2019’s tally of 19, according to new Read More