Join the Empire Center for a morning of briefings and conversations about New York and its local governments.
Hear from experts about important trends and key policies affecting our towns, cities, villages and counties.
Itinerary:
- New York State Economy & Finances Unraveled with E.J. McMahon (Empire Center)
- NY Property Taxes: Navigating Albany’s Challenges with Ken Girardin (Empire Center)
- Local Government Practitioner Panel with Ari Brown (NYS Assembly), Phil Barrett (Clifton Park), and Mark Grimm (Albany County)
Empire Center’s Policy Academy
A look at the key policy areas that impact local governments.
Wednesday, August 23rd, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Breakfast will begin at 8:30 AM
About the Author
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ThinkNY: Medicaid Overdose
Join us for our upcoming ThinkNY webinar, where we’ll explore a groundbreaking analysis of New York’s Medicaid program and its growing challenges.
Empire Center Senior Fellow for Health Policy Bill Hammond will walk us through his Read More
ThinkNY Issues on Appeal; Mail-in Voting and Prop 1
Join us for our latest ThinkNY webinar, where we’ll delve into two election-related cases on appeal Read More
ThinkNY: Proposition 1
Join us for our latest ThinkNY webinar, where we’ll delve into Proposition 1, a proposed amendment to the equal protection clause of the state Constitution.
Cam Macdonald will discuss its disputed status on the ballot and how it got here. We’ll als Read More
ThinkNY: Healthcare Taxes
We're excited to welcome back Bill Hammond, Senior Fellow for Health Policy at the Empire Center. With almost three decades of experience in journalism and a deep understanding of New York's healthcare industry, Hammond brings unparalleled insights.
Jo Read More
ThinkNY: Taylor Law
Join us Friday at 11am for our next ThinkNY webinar. This month, we'll dive into the Taylor Law, New York's public-sector collective bargaining law.
The Taylor Law plays a huge role in how state agencies, local governments and school districts operat Read More
Green Guardrails Webinar
Join us for a webinar on Empire Center's latest report, ""
Report author Ken Girardin examines the implementation of New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the sweeping 2019 law that allows state agencies to regulate nearly every p Read More
ThinkNY: Medicaid
Medicaid is a taxpayer-funded safety-net health plan that covers a third of the state's population, and it's one of the costliest and fastest-growing programs in the state budget.
This webinar will give an overview of what Medicaid does, why it's so ex Read More
ThinkNY: NYS Budget Process
For this monthly installment, E.J. McMahon provides insight into the NYS budget process and how we should expect the following months to unfold.
ThinkNY serves as a platform for everyday New Yorkers and key decision-makers to come together for thoughtf Read More
Policy Academy
Join the Empire Center for a morning of briefings and conversations about New York and its local governments.
Hear from experts about important trends and key policies affecting our towns, cities, villages and counties.
Please register for the in-person seminar below.
Empire Center’s Policy Academy
A look at the key policy areas that impact local governments.
Wednesday, August 23rd, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Breakfast will begin at 8:30 AM
About the Author
You may also like
Empire Center Poll: New Yorkers Prioritize Low Energy Prices and Have Little Appetite for Radical Climate Policies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers across political, geographic, age, and income groups oppose energy and climate policies that raise energy prices or force changes on homeowners, according to new Empire Center analysis Read More
Opinion Poll – Energy
Executive Summary
New York voters prioritize affordable energy and show limited support for energy and climate policies that could increase costs. The survey finds broad opposition to home-heating electrification and climate-related lawsuits aga Read More
The Attorney General’s MFCU SNAFU
Attorney General Letitia James' latest fight with the Trump administration focuses on New York's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a federally funded agency housed in James' office.
On T Read More
New York’s Electricity Prices Fourth Highest in the Country
New York households are paying the fourth-highest electricity prices in the country, according to the Empire Center's In April 2026, residential electricity prices in New York averaged 29.45 cents per kilowatt-hour - 56 percent above the national average Read More
Energy Data Bulletin June 2026
June 2026
Summary and Insights
Electricity. In March 2026, New York's average residential electricity price was 28.55 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). New York ranked 7th highest among the states and 50 percent above the Read More
Fourteen NYC Educators Receive Over Half a Million Dollars in Pensions
Fourteen retired New York City educators received more than $500,000 in pension benefits in 2025, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The data was obtained from the New York City Teachers’ Retirement Read More
Healthcare Revelations in the Enacted Budget Financial Plan
The state financial plan published on June 10 disclosed key information about healthcare revenue and spending that lawmakers had not made public when approving the annual budget two weeks before.
Read More
Hammond Submits CDPAP Testimony to Congress
The Empire Center's Bill Hammond today submitted written testimony for a congressional hearing on healthcare fraud.
Hammond's testimony to the focuses on evidence of overuse and wa Read More