New York City Independent Budget Office

NYC’s snow removal budget, legally set to the average of the last 5 years, has dropped with lower snowfall. In 2025, it’s set at $86M—down 25% from $111M in 2020.   Curious how the snow budget changed from 2003 to 2020? Check out our report: https://bit.ly/37C0kOu

Presidential election turnout is usually higher than turnout for mayoral races, so what if NYC held both in the same year? What would the fiscal impact be?  Check out our report to find out https://bit.ly/3WKlQtH

On Nov. 13, New York City Council votes on Council Member Chi Ossé's bill banning property owners from charging broker fees to renters. Even tax dollars end up paying broker fees: in FY24, the City spent nearly $57M on broker fees for its housing assistance programs, almost double the $26M spent in FY22.

According to the MMR, only 42% of Cash Assistance applications were processed on time in 2024, far from the City’s goal of 96%. Read our report to learn more about the challenges facing @NYC Human Resources Administration: https://buff.ly/3BN3P7e

Timeliness rates for SNAP and Cash Assistance improved since record lows in 2022 and 2023. However, nearly one-third of new Cash Assistance applications from May were not processed on time as of June 2024. Check out our report for more info: https://buff.ly/3BN3P7e

Our report finds that NYC Human Resources Administration has faced a perfect storm in the wake of the pandemic: staff exits, increasing applications, numerous rule changes, the unwinding of pandemic regulation, and the introduction of a new data system. Read our report to learn more: https://buff.ly/3BN3P7e

New York City Council We just released a report examining benefit processing and staff shortages at @NYC Human Resources Administration. Cash Assistance cases increased by 56% between 2020 to 2024, while benefit processing staff increased by only 16% over the same period. Read our report for more info: https://buff.ly/3BN3P7e

You can learn more about New York City Department of Transportation’s new and upcoming speed limit reductions here: https://buff.ly/4dTS5gF. If you're interested in learning how policy and budget decisions in the latest state budget will impact New York City, check out our report: https://buff.ly/404oAWf

Slow down! Starting this month, New York City Department of Transportation is reducing speed limits in select areas of the City, following the passage of Sammy’s Law in the State budget. IBO discussed the new law in our report on changes from Albany in July. Check it out: https://buff.ly/404oAWf

@New York State Department of Labor just released payroll employment estimates that show NYC gained 70K jobs through the 3rd quarter ending in September, putting the city on track to meet IBO's projected gain of 91K jobs over calendar year 2024. Visit ibo.nyc.gov for future updates.