At least four New York local government retirees appear to have received permission from state or New York City officials to each take home a combined $300,000 in pay and pensions as of January 1, 2018, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday again vetoed a pair of union-backed bills designed to sweeten pensions and discourage use of private contractors by state agencies—a positive signal for his third term. Read More
Tens of thousands of Long Islanders' pension funds are invested in gas and oil holdings. New York City wants to divest about $3.7 billion from them because of climate change. Read More
The number of retirees receiving pensions over $100,000 from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) increased by 20 percent during the system’s 2018 fiscal year, according to data posted today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
At least 856 New York state and local government employees under age 65 have received special permission to collect both public pensions and full government paychecks, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
Nearly three-quarters (307) of the 416 firefighters and fire officers who retired from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) during 2017 are eligible to collect pensions of at least $100,000, according to data posted today to SeeThroughNY.net, the Empire Center’s transparency website. Read More
On the whole, New Yorkers can breathe a sigh of relief if the state Senate’s gridlock forces an early end to the 2018 regular session of the Legislature. Otherwise, the next two weeks will still leave plenty of time for lawmakers to get up to no good. Read More
As a 19th-century Manhattan politician once observed, “no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” Some things never change. On balance, New Yorkers would probably be better off if this year’s legislative session ended ahead of its scheduled June 21 adjournment. Read More