Massachusetts for decades has posted better student outcomes than New York at a considerably lower per-pupil cost. In a new Empire Center report, a former member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education takes the first major step toward understanding this disparity by identifying key differences between the two states’ public education systems. Read More
Press Releases
Seven Port Authority of New York and New Jersey employees last year collected more than $200,000 each in overtime as total overtime surged, according to 2023 payroll data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. The five-year increase in overtime far exceeds the Port Authority's payroll savings from phasing out bridge and tunnel toll collectors over the same period. Read More
Three in five New Yorkers (60 percent) say the state is on the wrong track, up from 55 percent earlier this year, according to the latest Empire Index poll of registered voters by the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More
School districts presenting budgets to voters next Tuesday plan to spend an average of $33,404 per student, up 4.4 percent from the current school year, according to new state data. Read More
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s payroll jumped $663 million, or 9 percent, last year as overtime spending ticked up to a new record and subsidiaries dished out $261 million in retroactive pay, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
"This year’s budget process was an avoidable trainwreck. New York is the only state that begins its fiscal year on April 1, earlier than anyone else. This has contributed to Albany’s new, old tradition of missing deadlines, then hurriedly voting on bills before lawmakers can fully review them. Moving the fiscal year start would make the budget process more transparent and give lawmakers time to better perform their duty as the state’s board of directors." Read More
New York’s two teacher pension systems last year had 25 retirees eligible to collect pensions of more than $300,000, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
A total of 189 out of 685 school districts outside New York City last year had median classroom teacher pay over $100,000, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website, up from 156 five years earlier. Read More
The Empire Center for Public Policy today announced the results of its first statewide “Empire Index” poll, examining public sentiment and awareness of major policy issues. Read More
Four New York state employees last year collected more than $300,000 each in overtime, according to 2023 payroll data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. Read More
A new report from the Empire Center reveals hidden and rising costs, questionable assumptions and emerging transparency and practical issues resulting from New York’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Read More
Pay records for more than 168,000 county, city, town, village and other public employees were added today to SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center’s government transparency website. In addition to the searchable data, the Empire Center also released the updated edition of What They Make, its annual analysis of the state fiscal year 2023 payrolls for local governments outside New York City. Read More