When George E. Pataki first became governor in 1994, he made much of his humble origins on a farm in a small Hudson River community. And based on the vote totals, a large majority of New York City residents apparently dismissed him as a country bumpkin—or, at best, a suburban arriviste. Read More
One of the more striking aspects of this year's mayoral campaign has been the lack of any substantial debate on New York City's tax policy. To be sure, Fernando Ferrer has done his share of carping about Michael Bloomberg's tax hikes. Read More
Attacking Albany's complicity in "the unchecked growth of pensions" for New York employees, Mayor Bloomberg last week said it was high time the city gained more direct control of its own retirement benefits. Read More
The names, titles and base salaries of 427,759 New York City government employees are now posted on the web at SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center for Public Policy announced today. Read More
New Yorkers can now search for the names, titles, base salaries and total wages of 409,878 individuals who were employed by the New York City government during 2009 at SeeThroughNY.net, the transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
A searchable database of pension benefits for 203,474 retired New York City government employees was posted today on SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
Pension reform is now New York City's "No. 1 priority in Albany," Mayor Bloomberg announced in his State of the City message this week. Read More
The New York City Council’s pork-barrel member-item spending for fiscal 2011 has been posted on SeeThroughNY.net, the transparency website sponsored by the Empire Center for Public Policy. The $54.4 million in discretionary member items represent projects City Council members sponsored for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Read More