A small Long Island village had the highest-paid group of local government employees last year, according to the Empire Center’s 2015 “What They Make” report. Read More
Press Releases
The Empire Center for Public Policy has produced a new online video series in which a dozen New York State employers explain how their hiring patterns would be affected by a proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage. Read More
The number of teachers and other educational professionals paid more than $100,000 by school districts outside New York City climbed to 49,834 last year, according to payroll data added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour would cost New York between 200,000 and 588,800 jobs, according a report released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
New York City firefighters and fire officers who retired during the 2015 fiscal year were eligible for average pensions of $113,341 pension, a nine percent increase over the previous year, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center's transparency website. Read More
More than 2,900 state and local government retirees are receiving pensions larger than $100,000, according to pension data added today to SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s newly relaunched transparency website. Read More
The New York State Assembly spent $325,404 in taxpayer funds to purchase, maintain and fuel vehicles for use by members and staff during its most recent six-month reporting period, according to expenditure data added today to SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
The state Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Empire Center for Public Policy have reached an out-of-court settlement in which the MTA acknowledges its failure to respond “in a timely manner” to the Center’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. Read More
One in four Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) employees was paid more than $100,000 during 2014, according to payroll data added today to SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
The Assembly paid $1.1 million to 130 members for costs related to “legislative duties” performed in Albany between April and September 2014, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center's transparency website. The data was released more than eight months after the end of the reporting period, an unusually long amount of time. Read More
State lawmakers have given a real boost to government transparency and the public's right to know by voting to speed up the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) process. Read More
New York City Fire Department (FDNY) pensions have averaged more than $100,000 for new retirees for the past seven years, according to data previously withheld by the pension fund and obtained by the Empire Center after a lengthy court battle. Read More