What's The [DATA] Point
Podcast by Citizens Budget Commission
Episodes
September 25, 2026 • 55 mins
$897 million is the MTA's projected budget gap in 2030. While the budget is stable at the moment, future gaps are widening as expense growth outstrips revenues. On the upside, ridership is near pre-pandemic levels, the MTA is investing in its infrastructure and rolling stock to bring the system into good repair, and congestion pricing is delivering. To help us understand the challenges ahead, we spoke to the head honcho himself, MT...
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September 9, 2026 • 39 mins
25 is the number of years that have passed since the attacks on September 11, 2001, a day with little parallel on U.S. soil. Those in government, business, and civic life had the unusual challenge of charting the course of New York's future. With us are two of the people central to the effort: Ed Skyler, former Press Secretary and Deputy Mayor of Operations under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Carol Kellermann, former CEO of the Sept...
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August 4, 2026 • 47 mins
2040 is the year by which New York State has to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60% to the maximum extent feasible and cost effective, under the newly-amended Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The State also changed how it will measure greenhouse gas emissions to align with the method used by almost all states and the federal government. These changes will have significant, important effects.
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July 2, 2026 • 58 mins
1963 was the year the original Penn Station began to be demolished. To many, it was a tragedy, demonstrating how steep the cost of progress can be. While the station that rose in its stead has in many ways exceeded expectations, it's past time for an overhaul. With the site's political and infrastructural constraints, finding a workable solution hasn't been easy, but a ne...
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June 23, 2026 • 54 mins
$11 billion is the amount the new Port Authority Bus Terminal is projected to cost, a quarter of PANYNJ's ten year capital plan and a keystone project for the region's travelers. It's still just a small piece of what the Port Authority—and its new executive, Kathryn Garcia—oversees. Garcia is now in charge of a vast network of essential infrastructure, including five airports, PATH, bridges and tunnels, marine terminals...
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May 21, 2026 • 58 mins
$124.7 billion is the amount Mayor Mamdani proposes to spend in fiscal year 2027. The budget process is never simple, but this year the intensity ratcheted up. Revealing a large budget gap, the City administration negotiated with the State for aid to bridge it while simultaneously pursuing its ambitious programmatic agenda. Joining CBC to discuss the policy and politics is NYC Budget Director Sherif Soliman, a long-time public serv...
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April 29, 2026 • 57 mins
21 is the number of days late the State budget was when this episode was recorded. Policy negotiations are proving difficult to resolve, with high-stakes debates continuing over the Governor’s proposals to overhaul auto insurance, reform environmental review for housing construction, and advance the State’s climate agenda.
This week, WTDP welcomes arguably the third most powerful person in the Governor's office for a f...
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March 20, 2026 • 47 mins
$127 billion is the size of NYC's Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2027. After reporting a yawning $12 billion budget gap estimate, Mayor Mamdani revised that number down to $5.4 billion, thanks in part to Governor Hochul's willingness to chip in. But don't let the shrinking gap fool you: the underlying problems will not go away without making some tough choices. The Mayor proposes to raise personal income, business and property ...
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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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February 3, 2026 • 55 mins
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 ...
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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 del...
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December 18, 2025 • 53 mins
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 administra...
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December 15, 2025 • 66 mins
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 N...
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October 21, 2025 • 56 mins
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 ...
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October 21, 2025 • 58 mins
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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October 21, 2025 • 56 mins
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, Dist...
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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 b...
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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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