The Good News: NY State Is So Flush with Cash, It Can Fund Universal Child Care
Mayor Mamdani campaigned on raising taxes on the wealthy and big business to fund universal child care, and polls ofContinue Reading
Category: New York City
Universal Child Care in NYC One Step Closer to Reality As It Gets Boost from NY State
NY State Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a press conference on Thursday, January 8, 2026, whereContinue Reading
Bragg’s Summer Home Run to Protect Conviction Will be Decided by Judge Two Days Before Scheduled Sentencing: Tracking the New York Case
A ruling by Judge Juan Merchan on Donald Trump’s motion to set aside his New York hush-money conviction is expectedContinue Reading
New York City New York State NYC Transit NYC Transportation NYS Transportation & Transit Podcasts Public Policy The Mass Transit Crisis Transportation Transportation Policy
EP 04: Empire State Political Pulse with Jim Brennan – Congestion Pricing
Governor Hochul recently delayed implementation of congestion pricing, right before it was supposed to be implemented. Why? What will happen now? Will congestion pricing ever happen? How will this impact traffic, transit improvements and the MTA budget?
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CONGESTION PRICING DRIVES INTO THE FALL ELECTION
Governor Hochul’s last-second announcement on June 5th, 2024, to pause New York’s Congestion Pricing Plan caused understandable dismay and evenContinue Reading
Congressional Elections New York City New York City & New York State Voting New York State NYC Voting
Congressional Redistricting is Getting a Restart in New York- Democrats Can Avoid a Second Debacle and Win on the Existing Lines
On December 12, 2023, the New York State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, ruled that the State’s CongressionalContinue Reading
THE NYC SHELTER CENSUS STOOD AT 119,000 ON OCT. 31, 2023
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s Nov. 14th newsletter provided these figures for the census in the shelter system asContinue Reading
EP01: Empire State Political Pulse with Jim Brennan Podcast
Jim interviews three knowledgeable guests about the current migrant crisis in NYC in this episode of Jim’s new podcast series.
City Regains Million Jobs Lost in Pandemic; Milestone Tempered by Slower Job Growth in 2023
Mayor Eric Adams announced on October 19th that New York City had regained the nearly 1 million jobs lost duringContinue Reading
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The Mayor, the Migrants, and Reeling Deficits: Destroying New York, Really?
Mayor Eric Adams’ doomsday outcry about the impact of the increasing numbers of migrants coming to New York City, thatContinue Reading
NYC Adds Nearly a Million Jobs As It Reaches a Total Recovery from One of the Worst Pandemic Drops in the Nation
Let me start with the good news: New York City has regained nearly one million jobs, 29.9% above its lowestContinue Reading
Budgets Featured New York City New York State NYC Transit NYC Transportation NYS Transportation & Transit Public Policy State Budget The Mass Transit Crisis Transportation Transportation Policy
The MTA’s “Deficits” Aren’t Just a NYC Problem: Taxes Bail Out the Commuter Lines Heavily Too
The New York State budget was submitted to the Legislature by Governor Kathy Hochul for the fiscal year beginning AprilContinue Reading
A CITY GOVERNMENT IN DENIAL ON THE BUDGET
To get right to the point, the Mayor and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seem to be in serious denial about the size of next year’s budget deficit.
Budgets City Budget Featured New York City New York State NYC Transit NYC Transportation NYS Transportation & Transit State Budget The Mass Transit Crisis Transportation Policy
The State Must Step in Now to Avoid a Mass Transit Apocalypse
Hope that Congress can enact a post-election stimulus package to aid the economy amid another explosion of coronavirus cases has narrowed.Continue Reading
Congress Returns to Washington as New York’s Future Hangs in the Balance
Congress returned to Washington D.C this past week and New Yorkers have a big stake in the outcome of anyContinue Reading
The Pandemic Has Forced Hundreds of Thousands Out of the City’s Labor Force. They Are Not Even Counted in the City’s Official 18% Unemployment Rate.
Labor statistics can be very confusing, especially for the general public. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its JuneContinue Reading
State Budget Crisis Part Two: UPDATE-NYC WANTS TO BORROW LONG-TERM TOO
I wrote on my blog on May 28th https://jimbrennanscommentaries.com/2020/05/28/state-budget-crisis-part-2-budget-cuts-loom-as-dc-aid-stalls-but-nys-can-fill-gap-without-tax-increases/Â advocating New York State address its looming budget deficit by borrowingContinue Reading
Colossal Failures by New York Budget Division Bring Turmoil and Danger to Medicaid Program
The New York State Division of the Budget surprised the public this past November with an announcement the State facedContinue Reading
Taking Stock of Significant Progress in the City Schools
The students in the New York City public schools are doing better — so much so that the improvements offerContinue Reading
New York City Dominating State Job Growth; Rest of State Still Growing-Slowly
New York City is now utterly dominating job growth in the State of New York. In the past two andContinue Reading