ALBANY, NY — 2020 payroll data for a total of 79,146 employees at 331 different New York State public authorities is now posted at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website.

2021 payroll data is also posted for a total of 11,073 employees at 23 public authorities.

The Empire Center posts public authority payroll data on a rolling basis as it is received.

For 2020, among public authorities closest to the governor’s office, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) had the highest average salary as reported by the state Public Authorities Reporting Information System. NYSERDA’s 355 employees were paid an average of $102,072. Alfred Griffin, then-president of NYSERDA’s New York Green Bank, topped the list at $216,458.  Griffin left the post this past February.

Among the other authorities in the newly posted 2020 salary database:

• Power Authority of New York State (2,439 employees, Avg. salary $105,052)
• New York State Dormitory Authority (587 employees, Avg. salary $89,173)
• Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation (3,192 employees, Avg. salary $88,575)
• Suffolk County Water Authority (617 employees, Avg. salary $77,620)
• Erie County Medical Center Corporation (4,444 employees, Avg. salary $61,324)
• Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (1,771 employees, Avg. salary $54,001)

The payroll data reflect pay received during employer fiscal years ending in 2020. Previous updates to public authority payroll data for fiscal year 2020 include the payrolls from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

Among those public authorities reporting 2021 payroll data, NYSERDA has the highest average pay.  It paid 357 employees an average of $107,679. Highest among them was Brian Lee, Managing Director of Green Bank, who was paid $201,863.

Other authorities in the 2021 salary database include:

• New York State Dormitory Authority (529 employees, Avg. Salary $100,773)
• Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation (3,192 employees, Avg. Salary $92,813)
• Environmental Facilities Corporation (95 employees, Avg. Salary $86,451)
• Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (1,684 employees, Avg. Salary $54,825)
• Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (1,011 employees, Avg. Salary $51,668)

Not reflected in the payroll data are the costs of pensions, health insurance for employees and retirees, and other benefits.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.