Press Releases

State lawmakers spent $7.8 million on postage for campaign-style mailings to constituents in the six-month run-up to last year’s elections, according to data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Maximum pension benefits averaged $68,902 for the 2,598 members of the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) who retired last year with at least 30 years of credited service time, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The complete 2018 New York State government payroll is now posted on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More

The number of six-figure pensions paid to retired New York City education professions has more than quadrupled since 2008, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Almost one in three New Yorkers would face higher costs under a proposed single-payer health plan, and half of the worse-off group would be low- or middle-income, according to a new report from the Empire Center. Read More

At least four New York local government retirees appear to have received permission from state or New York City officials to each take home a combined $300,000 in pay and pensions as of January 1, 2018, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More

A new analysis of New York’s proposed single-payer health care plan finds that as many as 77 percent of hospitals statewide could lose revenue under its funding structure. Read More

The Empire Center today released its annual “Benchmarking New York” report, comparing and ranking government tax, spending and debt levels for hundreds of counties, towns, cities and villages throughout New York. Read More

In a consequential win for government transparency, the New York State Supreme Court has ordered a Long Island school district to comply with the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), following years of evasion. In addition to providing its teacher and superintendent contracts, Malverne Union Free School District has reimbursed the Empire Center for Public Policy’s legal expenses. Read More

More than 120 employees of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) collected $300,000 or more during the city’s 2018 fiscal year, according to the latest payroll data added to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. The top 2017 paycheck at DEP was $216,112. Read More

Twenty-four percent of public school teachers and administrators in New York school districts outside New York City were paid more than $100,000 during the 2017-18 school year, according to data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The state Assembly and Senate spent a total of $113,347,185 on member offices and legislative operations between October 2017 and March 2018, according to data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More