Gov. Kathy Hochul has taken blistering criticism for postponing congestion pricing, a long-planned $15 toll on drivers entering lower Manhattan meant to reduce traffic — and collect $15 tolls. Most of the drama may be playing out in New York City, but pay attention, upstate: you stand to lose — or win — in this fight. Read More
Anyone wondering how New York consistently has the nation’s highest public school spending but below-average student outcomes got a succinct explanation from Albany earlier this month. Read More
So much for “no means no.” That’s the message from the state Court of Appeals, which ruled last week that New Yorkers don’t need an excuse to cast an absentee ballot by mail when they’re otherwise able to vote in person — even though the voters themselves have directly rejected such a measure. Read More
It’s a pity New York cannot power its economy on hubris, but state officials this week gave it a try. Read More
In February 2021, the Empire Center published the first independent analysis of the Cuomo's administration much-debated directive ordering Covid-positive patients into nursing homes. The report found that the directive was associated with a statistically significant increase in resident deaths in the homes that admitted the infected patients. Read More
The New York State Energy Planning Board reconvened yesterday to kick off a new round of energy planning. And it violated the state's Open Meetings Law before the gavel fell. Read More
State Health Department documents from June 2020, newly unearthed by congressional investigators, appear to show harmful effects from a controversial order requiring nursing homes to admit Covid-positive patients. Read More
Governor Hochul and state lawmakers this year approved a costly giveaway for public employee unions that retroactively hiked pension benefits. Now the bill is arriving. Read More