Review of the Financial Plan of the City of New York

City Should Prepare for Federal Budget and Economic Uncertainty

Stronger than anticipated revenues and lower costs for asylum seekers will help New York City balance its $118 billion fiscal year 2026 budget. However, potential fiscal challenges are emerging, including continued uncertainty regarding federal policy and economic conditions, and fiscal risks from anticipated federal budget cuts. These challenges could limit the City’s potential revenue upside and make it harder to continue to fund recent spending additions for discretionary programs and maintain services.

New York City’s Uneven Recovery: Youth Labor Force Update

In 2024, Young Black Workers Faced Highest Unemployment Rate at 23.8%

Young workers in New York City between the ages of 16-24 continued to face a high 13.2% unemployment rate in 2024, which was 3.6 points higher than in 2019 and higher than all other age groups. Potential federal funding cuts to education and workforce development grants, as well as a looming economic recession, may weaken job prospects for young people.

What MTA Operating Revenue Trends Tell Us About Its Fiscal Recovery

Report Tracks MTA's Shifting Revenue Streams

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) pays for its operating budget from a wide variety of sources, but the decline in paid ridership since the pandemic and economic changes have contributed to significant shifts in those streams of income. Tracking changes to the MTA revenues allows the public and elected officials to understand the shift in economic activity locally that is impacting the Authority and where progress can still be made to improve fiscal sustainability.

NYC311 Monitoring Tool

SEE SERVICE REQUESTS BY NEIGHBORHOOD

Non-emergency 311 calls in New York City climbed to over 3.4 million in 2024, up 7% from 2023. To increase transparency and help the city respond to growing quality of life complaints, the Office of the New York State Comptroller released a report highlighting trends in service requests over the past five years, and an interactive NYC311 Monitoring Tool to let people see requests in their neighborhood and help identify where resources may be needed.

The Cost of Living in New York City: Food

More New Yorkers Facing Food Insecurity

Food prices in the New York City metropolitan area have risen 25.2% since 2019 and low-income households are paying substantially more toward food than before the pandemic. While food costs are affected by many factors, recent increases have been fueled by supply chain disruptions created by disruptive public health, severe weather and geopolitical events, which may continue in the near term.

Federal Funds to New York City

CUTS IN FEDERAL AID POSE RISKS TO CITY BUDGET

New York City’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 operating budget relies on $7.4 billion in federal government funding, accounting for 6.4% of total spending. Recent federal government actions to cut grant programs could jeopardize at least $535 million of federal aid in FY 2025 and FY 2026, but nearly all federal operating aid that flows to the City could be subject to cuts or elimination.

Briefs

Federal Funds to New York City: A Review of Categorical Grants

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Child Care and Development Block Grant

Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers

National School Lunch, Breakfast Programs

Community Development Block Grant

Medicaid

Title IV-E Foster Care

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Homeland Security Grant Program

Social Services Block Grant

Wall Street Bonuses

Average Bonus Hits $244,700

The average bonus paid to employees in New York City’s securities industry for 2024 reached $244,700, up 31.5% from last year. The bonus pool for the city’s securities employees reached a record $47.5 billion, its first major increase since the COVID-19 pandemic highs. Wall Street’s profits rose 90% in 2024.

Subway Recovery Tracker

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Subway Ridership in New York City

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound and disparate impact on subway ridership in New York City. Initially, the emergence of the virus in March and April 2020 corresponded with a steep and uniform drop in subway usage across all five boroughs. Citywide, April 2020 ridership was just 8.3 percent of what it was in April 2019, and through the summer of 2024 ridership has yet to regularly surpass 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Agency Services Monitoring Tool

MONTHLY UPDATES TRACK PERFORMANCE, STAFFING AND SPENDING

The Office of the New York State Comptroller developed a tool that displays performance indicators, staffing levels and spending commitments assigned to a City service since January 2020. While there are many factors that affect service demand and provision, the tool can provide some insight on existing operational or budgetary phenomena or the emergence of potential risks to the City’s budget and the provision of certain services.

New York City Industry Sector Dashboards

MONTHLY UPDATES TRACK THE CITY’S ECONOMIC RECOVERY

The COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City particularly hard, causing massive job losses at major employers such as restaurants, hotels and retail stores. These dashboards follow a series of reports released over the past two years tracking economic data and the effect of the pandemic on these critical sectors and will help identify areas of weakness as well as positive developments.

Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Sector

Construction Sector

Office Sector

Restaurant Sector

Retail Sector

Securities Sector

Subway Recovery Tracker

Tourism Sector

Transportation and Warehousing Sector