Press Releases

The Empire Center has updated its online Spend-O-Meter to reflect the record size of New York’s newly enacted $168.3 billion budget for fiscal 2019. Read More

From 2014 to 2016, New York’s Medicaid program saw a surge in drug spending that Governor Andrew Cuomo blamed on “abusive” behavior by drug manufacturers. A new Empire Center issue brief shows that, after accounting for rebates, the surge was smaller than Cuomo described, and that it was mostly driven by enrollment growth. Overall, the report finds that price increases accounted for about one-fifth of the spending surge, while enrollment accounted for four-fifths. Read More

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees were paid an average of $99,654 in 2017, up about 1.7 percent from 2016, according to payroll data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The Empire Center today released its 2018 edition of “Checklist for Change,” a summary of more than 20 reforms needed to promote renewed economic growth and competitiveness in New York State. Read More

The state Assembly and Senate spent a total of $108,569,732 between April and September 2017, according to data posted today at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center's government transparency website. Read More

Overtime spending by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last year reached a record $1.2 billion, a 20 percent increase over the 2016 level, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

The complete 2017 New York state government payroll is now posted on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More

The Empire Center’s unique online “Explore Your State Budget” app has been updated to reflect data in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed Executive Budget for the 2019 fiscal year, which begins April 1. Read More

This new timeline traces five legal battles the Empire Center has fought since 2009 against public agencies that refuse to allow taxpayers to see where their money is going. Read More

After a two-year legal battle followed by two years of additional delays, the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) has released the full pension records for its retired members. Read More

Maximum pension benefits averaged $68,676 for the 2,495 members of the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) who retired in school year 2016-17 with at least 30 years of credited service time, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More

Pension payment data for 81,411 New York City public school and City University of New York retirees were added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More