What's The [DATA] Point

What's The [DATA] Point

Podcast by Citizens Budget Commission

Episodes

March 3, 2026 57 mins
$263 billion is the size of the FY27 State budget proposed by Governor Hochul. With strong tax receipts, the State has enough to close next year's gap and put a dent in future gaps, plus fund universal childcare. But risks abound, including a structural budget gap and federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP. How is the State navigating all these competing forces in an election year? Should NYS be doing more for the City? What are the ...
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630,000 is the number of riders who travel through Penn Station every day—making it the busiest transportation hub in the nation. The catch? It was designed, reportedly, for just 200,000. Revitalizing Penn Station is a bit of a white whale for its many stakeholders, including three transit agencies, two states, one city, and now, the Federal government. There is momentum at long last in part thanks to the head of the project for Am...
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January 16, 2026 34 mins
1,039,069 is the number of kids under the age of five in New York who could ultimately qualify for free or subsidized childcare under the Hochul/Mamdani plan. How should the State and City design a flexible program that meets the needs of diverse families? How should it be phased? What does "universal" mean exactly? And what is the budget impact in an uncertain fiscal environment? To help answer these questions and more is Grace R...
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December 19, 2025 35 mins
1,143 is the number of days Camille Joseph Varlack served in city government as Chief of Staff, Deputy Mayor for Administration and briefly First Deputy Mayor during the Adam's administration. A good Chief of Staff can make an administration—but they're rarely in the spotlight. On this episode of What's the [DATA] Point, Joseph Varlack joins CBC's Andrew Rein to reflect on her successes and the challenges of continuing to deliver i...
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17 is the number of days, at the time of this conversation’s recording, before Dean Fuleihan becomes First Deputy Mayor for a second time. As Mayor-Elect Mamdani turns from campaigning to the practicalities of governing, First Deputy Mayor Fuleihan will be an expert hand involved in every step. On this episode of What’s the [DATA] Point, Fuleihan joined CBC’s Andrew Rein to talk about how to achieve the administration’s priorities,...
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51 is the number of members in the New York City Council. Six weeks before the Council was scheduled to vote on its next leader, Council Member Julie Menin announced herself the presumptive Speaker after garnering the support of a supermajority of her council colleagues. On this episode of What's the [DATA] Point, CM Menin joined CBC's Andrew Rein and New York Law School's Ben Max to discuss her broad vision for a proactive City Co...
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November 20, 2025 54 mins
791 is the number of staff the City Comptroller can employ for the vital task of auditing City agencies, managing the $306 billion pension fund, registering contracts, analyzing the budget, monitoring the economy—essentially serving as the people's check on the Mayor's office. This episode of What's the Data Point involves a conversation between the 'Three C's', NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, and NYC Com...
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221 is the number of New Yorkers who joined CBC's Mayoral Smart Choices Half-Day Conference. In part 1 of a three-part series, a panel explores important question about the City's finances: how does the next mayor bring spending to sustainable levels and build the City’s reserves? What does fulsome preparation for federal cuts look like? How do labor deals balance fair compensation with fiscal reality? What tax policies will mainta...
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221 is the number of New Yorkers who joined CBC's Mayoral Smart Choices Half-Day Conference. In part 3 of a three-part series, a panel explores important questions on how to make the City affordable, safe, and livable. There are many competing needs, from boosting housing production to making childcare more affordable; providing fast, reliable public transit; delivering clean, safe and vibrant streets and high quality education. Ho...
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221 is the number of New Yorkers who joined CBC's Mayoral Smart Choices Half-Day Conference. In part 2 of a three-part series, a panel explores important questions about delivering services to New Yorkers: how do we ensure that the most high-quality and effective programs rise to the top and are managed well? How do we shrink what isn’t working even if it’s politically popular? - Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council...
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October 16, 2025 68 mins
Fifty years ago today New York City came within hours of bankruptcy, one of the most significant events of the Fiscal Crisis. This episode features interviews with two of the era’s heroes—Stephen Berger, who served as Executive Director of the State Emergency Financial Control Board, and Eugene Keilin, Executive Director of the Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC). Learn how they and New Yorkers from government, the business comm...
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September 17, 2025 39 mins
2,500 is the number of uniformed officers NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch moved from behind desks to patrolling NYC streets since this past summer. The move helped drive down the number of serious crimes committed, though fear remains high: last winter before this effort, CBC surveyed New Yorkers and discovered that 42% felt their neighborhood is safe, and only 34% rated the City's quality of life as excellent or good. These pose a...
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34% is the share of New Yorkers who now rate the city’s quality of life excellent or good in CBC's recent citywide survey "Straight from New Yorkers." This is substantially lower than the 51% who rated quality of life positively in 2017. At the same time, the competition with other places to attract and keep residents and business is fierce. In this episode, CBC brought together leaders from New York's business, labor, nonprofit,...
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48,000 is the number of new homes to be created when we add together the 40,000 that should be enabled by 5 neighborhood rezonings and the current proposed plan to redevelop the Brooklyn Marine Terminal. New York must dramatically increase housing production if it is going reduce its affordability problems and be in a strong competitive position to retain and attract residents, grow businesses, and create jobs. What else is New Yor...
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$280 billion is the total number of dollars held by New York City’s five pension funds over which the City Comptroller is custodian and investment adviser. The Comptroller plays a critical role in the City’s fiscal health, integrity, and accountability. In June, New Yorkers will head to the polls to choose who they want to guide them through the economically uncertain times ahead. Today's episode features a live debate between t...
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February 22, 2025 43 mins
$15 billion is the amount congestion pricing is expected to yield for MTA infrastructure investment—to bring trains, tracks, yards, and signals to a state of good repair, increase accessibility, and expand subway service. As congestion pricing is challenged by the Trump administration, this speaks to the larger question of the fiscal and regulatory relationship between the federal government and New York. In this episode we are jo...
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February 11, 2025 57 mins
$252 billion is the size of Governor Kathy Hochul’s New York State Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2026. It's a full $100 billion more than ten years ago. New York State and its localities are already #1 in taxes and #2 in spending nationwide. On today’s episode we talk with New York State’s Budget Director Blake G. Washington, to discuss whether taxes are too high, if New York should try to restrain spending growth, how the State...
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$35 billion is how much of the MTA's 5-year capital plan remains unfunded. Investing in the MTA’s crumbling infrastructure is one of the most important decisions Albany will make this year; New York's economy, quality of life, and the region's competitiveness depend on it. At a recent CBC event, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber sat down with CBC president Andrew Rein to talk about keeping the trains running on time, the potential ri...
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December 7, 2024 41 mins
$16 billion is the estimated cost to build the new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. Decades of delays and funding spats ultimately led to the creation of the Gateway Development Commission, the bi-state entity responsible for making the tunnel a reality. Joining the podcast is Alicia Glen, co-Chair of the Gateway Development Commission, founder and managing principal of MSquared, and current CBC Trustee. Glen is also the chair o...
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80,000. That’s the number of additional new housing units the Adams’ Administration hopes will be developed over the next 15 years thanks to the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. The City Council votes this week on Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to tackle the housing crisis. However, that is not all that the Administration is focused on. Needed Infrastructure investment, improved contracting, implementing the now-charter mandated true c...
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