What's The [Data] Point? Episode 29 -- $88.7 billion, with Mara Gay [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

On Thursday, Feburary 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his preliminary budget proposal for city fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1. On Friday, February 2, Mara Gay of the Wall Street

De Blasio's Feb 2018 budget presentation (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

As the state and federal governments continue to pursue policies that threaten the city’s fiscal future, Mayor Bill de Blasio again said he is investing in making New York City the “fairest big city in America” as he proposed spending $88.67 billion for the next city fiscal year, which begins July 1.

On Thursday afternoon, the mayor released his preliminary budget proposal for next fiscal year, which increases city spending by nearly $3 billion

What's The Data Point? Episode 28 -- $14.3 Billion, with Robert Mujica and Dean Fuleihan [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

State Budget Director Robert Mujica and New York City First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan spoke at a CBC event on Wednesday, January 24 to discuss the

De Blasio at a public hearing (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

Four government transparency bills that were passed by the City Council on October 31 aged into law on Friday, having gone 30 days without any action in favor or against them by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The bills all relate to increased disclosure by the administration of billions in city government spending and have been praised by good government advocates.

Among the bills was one that ...

De Blasio during a budget presentation (photo: Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio will release the mandated November budget modification on Tuesday, showing minor adjustments to the city’s nearly $86 billion budget for the current fiscal year, which runs through the end of June.

Spending for fiscal year 2018 (FY18) will be projected up from the $85.24 billion agreed upon by de Blasio and the City Council in June to $85.99 billion, according to the mayor’s office. The increase is largely due to more federal funding coming to the

De Blasio during a budget presentation (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

This article is part of a series on Mayor de Blasio's first term record as he seeks reelection this fall, in partnership with WNYC radio and City Limits. Find all pieces of the series here.

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Mayor

Construction in Corona Plaza (photo via DOT)

Few things impact the lives of New Yorkers more than the city’s “capital projects.” These projects create, maintain, and improve the infrastructure New Yorkers use every day, including: streets, bridges, tunnels, sewers, parks, and so much more. In 2018, the capital budget will be $16.2 billion, approximately 17% the size of the city’s $85.2 billion “expense budget.” What are these projects? How can you find out about them? It’s not easy, but it should be.

The Capital Budgeting process is a complex endeavour. The City

What's The Data Point? Episode 17 -- $95 billion [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

This week's data point is $95 billion, the current value of all of the future retiree benefits, except pensions, already earned by current retirees and current workers of New York City. This amount, referred to as

What's The Data Point? Episode 13 - 95 with City Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland[You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

For this episode of the podcast, we were joined by City Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, who has chaired the powerful finance committee and is leaving the City Council at the end of the year. Ferreras-Copeland could have run for one more term, and was seen as a leading contender to become the next City Council

What's The Data Point? Episode 7 -- 2008, [You can download What's The Data Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

For this episode of the podcast we spoke with John Breit, a CBC Trustee, PhD Physicist, and former risk adviser to Merrill Lynch and the New York City Comptroller’s Office for the pension funds. Breit had a front row view of the economic collapse of 2008 and is an expert on the city's pension system, which is an essential piece of the city's fiscal health. In our discussion,

(photo: The Governor's Office)

As the dust settles on the scheduled legislative session in Albany and subsequent “extraordinary session” called by Governor Andrew Cuomo, much of the focus has been on the extension of mayoral control of city schools, finally passed Thursday after serious brinkmanship. There has also been plenty of talk centered on what didn’t happen: procurement, ethics, and electoral reform, the Child Victims Act, and more.

The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC), a fiscal watchdog, is also calling for scrutiny of other items that

What's The [Data] Point? is a podcast from Gotham Gazette and Citizens Budget Commission looking at important issues in New York policy and government. GG, which is published by Citizens Union Foundation, and CBC are both watchdogs dedicated to analyzing and explaining New York public policy and holding government accountable. The podcast will touch on a variety of issues that have significant impact to the everyday lives of New Yorkers as well as the workings of city and state government. It is hosted by Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and Citizens Budget Commission, and produced by JaVon Rice of GG and Kevin

What's The Data Point? Episode 1 -- $85.2 Billion. [You can download What's The Data Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

In the first episode of What's The Data Point? from Gotham Gazette and Citizens Budget Commission, we discuss the city's recently-adopted $85.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1, 2017.

Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax) and Maria Doulis (...

Council Member Ferreras-Copeland (photo: John McCarten)

The City Council held its final hearing on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $84.86 billion executive budget proposal on Thursday, with Council members raising issues that have persisted throughout budget season and expressing concerns about the federal budget proposal released this week by the Trump administration.

“The city adopts the Fiscal 2018 budget at a time of great uncertainty about the future of critical programs and services that help many of our most vulnerable populations,” said Council Member Julissa

Council Member Dromm, one of the authors (photo: Make The Road NY)

Three million immigrant New Yorkers currently call our city home, adding to its vibrancy and vitality. Since Donald Trump’s election, immigrant communities have been fearful: hate crimes have gone up, immigrant workers face more exploitation, and families are scared of separation and deportation. For those of us working as community advocates and elected officials, we are now driven more than ever to find the policy solutions that will help our immigrant communities thrive and remain resilient, rather than live

City Council Member David Greenfield (photo: @NYCCouncil)

At a City Council hearing on Friday, representatives of the city’s Campaign Finance Board expected to answer questions about their proposed budget for the next fiscal year but instead found themselves defending their processes for post-election auditing of campaigns.

One of the Campaign Finance Board’s prime functions is to perform detailed examinations of how candidate campaigns utilize funds and whether they adhere to the strict requirements of campaign finance law. These

Long line of voters (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)

The executive director of the New York City Board of Elections said at a City Council budget hearing on Friday that recent failings by the board, revealed in a WNYC report, were not entirely the BOE’s responsibility and that voters in New York needed to step up their participation and involvement in ensuring that their votes count.

WNYC radio’s Brigid Bergin reported

Council Members Chin, left, & Vallone (photo: John McCarten/City Council)

The City Council Committee on Aging held a hearing on Monday to examine the allotment for the Department of the Aging (DFTA) in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recently-released executive budget plan.

Council members and DFTA representatives for the de Blasio administration discussed the situation that seniors may be facing given reduced funding numbers in de Blasio’s $84.86 billion budget proposal. The Council, in its response to the mayor’s preliminary budget, had called

Speaker Mark-Viverito (all photos: John McCarten/City Council)

The City Council held its first hearing on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $84.86 billion executive budget for fiscal year 2018 on Thursday, and Council members gave the mayor a mixed review for his updated spending plan. They praised de Blasio for increasing funding for a number of recommendations made by the Council and for taking steps to control the capital budget. But, Council members expressed concern that crucial priorities remained unfunded, or underfunded, even as the latest budget plan increased projected

The Mayor presents the budget (photo: Edwin J. Torres/ Mayor's Office)

Nearly $200 million more in spending and $587 million in savings were added to the budget for the 2018 fiscal year in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s latest iteration of the city’s spending plan released on Wednesday.

The mayor presented an $84.86 billion executive budget, which increased proposed spending from the $84.67 billion proposed in the preliminary budget in January. The new spending is targeted at early childhood education, job creation, veterans services, anti-eviction

A new $153 billion New York state budget was passed through the Legislature Sunday evening, nine days into the new fiscal year, following a particularly lengthy and tumultuous negotiation period.

After Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a budget deal Friday night, the Assembly approved the budget Saturday, while State senators -- called back to Albany from their districts -- moved through the final budget bills the following day.

Within the spending plan are items that have serious ramifications for New York

Council Members Vanessa Gibson and Robert Cornegy (photo: William Alatriste)

At a preliminary budget hearing before the City Council committee on Public Safety Thursday morning, the district attorneys of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island and representatives for the district attorneys of Brooklyn and Queens and the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor laid out the case for their budget priorities.

Several themes emerged during the hearing chaired by Council Member Vanessa Gibson, chiefly the issues of salaries for the

De Blasio pitches his mansion tax (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Budget watchdogs have expressed concern that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “mansion tax” proposal, which would impose levies on real estate transactions above $2 million, may be misguided or even unnecessary.

De Blasio made a last-minute trip to Albany on Wednesday to rally with Democratic lawmakers and progressive advocates in favor of a number of proposals currently being considered in state budget negotiations. The mayor’s chief concern,

Comptroller Scott Stringer, the author

Discoveries of "Super Earths." Contact lenses with data displays and video cameras. Earpieces that translate different languages in real-time. We are truly in the great age of technology and innovation. Knowledge, access, and new tools are helping us break barriers like never before in human history.

So why, then, does it seem so hard to deliver basic transparency to the city budget? If we're realizing incredible new terrain, why is it so difficult to lay out local government spending in a way that everyday people can

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

The New York political world is still reeling from and reacting to the news that Mayor Bill de Blasio and his aides will not be charged in either of two investigations into their behavior. Comptroller Scott Stringer has said definitively he is running for reelection, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said it’s time to move on to