Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Economy

Economy

  • City Sees Crush of Public Assistance Applications as Coronavirus Recession Takes Hold

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    New Yorkers wait on line for food (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    As New York City shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak, and hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and livelihoods, the city saw a massive increase in applications for food stamps and cash assistance.

    According to new data from the city’s Human Resources Administration and Department of Social Services, applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly referred to as food stamps, and for cash assistance have surged since the

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  • Expand ‘Right to Counsel’ to Protect Our Families and Small Businesses from Homelessness and Financial Ruin

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    Small businesses are closed or on the brink across the city (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The day after the 90-day moratorium on eviction ends, residential and commercial eviction proceedings will potentially flood our courts, leaving families and small businesses gasping for air. 

    Amid this pandemic, it is imperative that New York City expands the Right to Counsel law by increasing legal capacity to meet the inevitable COVID-19 eviction demand, and, building on this model, establish a new initiative to provide free legal

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  • Keys to 'Inclusive Economic Recovery' in New York City Include Investments in CUNY and Workforce Development, Experts Say

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    Considering an inclusive recovery in New York City (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    As the COVID-19 public health and economic crises continue, so does the conversation about recovery. This past week, the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), a nonprofit think tank focused on economic opportunity and equitable growth, hosted a digital discussion, “Ensuring an Inclusive Economic Recovery in NYC,” featuring several public policy experts.

    Jonathon Bowles, the executive director of CUF, opened the discussion saying “the immediate priorities are clear: keep people

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  • City Council to Pass Bill Capping What Food Delivery Apps Can Charge Restaurants, Sponsor Says

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    Restaurants are struggling to survive during the lockdown (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    As New York City’s mom-and-pop restaurants struggle to survive in lockdown conditions owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York City Council appears poised to help them cut costs by passing a bill to cap fees charged by third-party delivery services, which have proliferated in recent years via phone apps.

    Small restaurants that cannot afford delivery workers or have recognized the popularity of the apps rely on the third-party services like Grubhub, Seamless (which

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  • Aid to States is Important, But Next Federal Stimulus Must Truly Spark a People’s Recovery

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    The people must be prioritized, the authors write (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York remains the epicenter of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. And we remain short of resources to tamp down transmission of the virus and to provide the critical economic relief to working families and the most vulnerable New Yorkers.

    Our representatives in Congress need to make sure we get those resources in the next stimulus bill. And starting this week, we’ve been ...

  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Job Loss and New York City's Coronavirus Recession

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    It's a very rainy day in New York City (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    April 29, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Job Loss and New York City's Coronavirus Recession

    james parrot 150Economist James Parrott of the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School joined the show to discuss his recent study of job loss in the city at the onset of the coronavirus recession,

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  • ‘Recovery Strategy Group’ Eyes Future of Work in Post-Coronavirus New York Economy

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    Workers are at the forefront of a new effort (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York’s economy will likely take years to recover from the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, with millions of people unemployed and billions of dollars in lost revenue. A group of experts from the public and private sectors is hoping to create a roadmap to recovery that will help the state emerge stronger from the most challenging socio-economic crisis it has faced in modern times.

    The pandemic has forced the closure of entire industries in New York, with

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  • Experts Look Ahead to Post-Virus Restart of City Economy Amid Fear of Urban Flight

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    When will the city economy re-open, and how? (image: Mayor's Office)


    Billions of dollars in typical commerce isn’t happening as the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has brought the local economy to a near-standstill, and with the shutdown hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in expected tax revenue lost from city coffers. The unparalleled scale of the crisis, with no clear end in sight, has made forecasts unpredictable. What’s not in doubt is that the city will eventually have to revive and rebuild its communities, its industries and job market,

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  • New Reports Paint Bleak Picture of New York City Economy, Budget

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    New York City economy is at a standstill (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Economists and budget experts concede that they can make no concrete predictions about how long the economy will be in recession because of the novel coronavirus outbreak and the cumulative effects it will have on jobs and revenue. Nonetheless, the consequences that they have been able to forecast show that the city has a tough road ahead, experiencing a worse downturn than in the early 1970s as 1.2 million jobs have already been lost and, with extreme social distancing

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  • Looking Ahead to a New New York

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    New York must take learn key leassons as it moves ahead (Photo: Spencer T Tucker/Mayor's Office)


    Though it feels like an eternity, it was only about a year ago that Amazon walked away from plans to build a second headquarters in Long Island City. The online juggernaut was scared out of town by a short-sighted public debate that centered on legitimate concerns about gentrification and displacement but underplayed future-looking arguments about economic growth. At the time ...

  • Lessons from 9/11: A Needed Piece of the Coronavirus Recovery Plan

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    emergency supplies at a local firehouse (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    As the city and state are on pause and most people are shut in, many (including me) are stunned and anguished about the sudden shutdown of the city’s economy. Restaurants, bars, and personal services are the grout that holds our neighborhoods together. We are heartbroken about all the waiters, cooks, bartenders, manicurists, personal trainers, and others who are now unemployed; many of these people who give character to our lives are now in dire financial straits. The same is true for

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  • Experts Dissect How the City Economy is Working and Who It's Working For

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    (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    New York City has seen a lot of growth and some large shifts in its economy and workforce over the last decade. Unemployment is near record lows, but much of the growth has been in low-wage industries and many New Yorkers are underemployed or working full-time but still struggling to make ends meet. Automation is increasing, and technology has become both its own industry and part of every other sector of the economy.

    Between 2010 and 2016, the tech sector in New York City grew 57%, and tech jobs in non-tech

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  • New York City Economy Continues Setting Records, But Slower Growth Expected

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    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    New York City has experienced a remarkable and extended economic recovery since the devastation wrought by the global recession, with job growth continuing at levels higher than the state and the entire country, according to the latest report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. But the New York City Independent Budget Office, a fiscal watchdog agency, predicts that job growth in the city will sharply decline over the next two years across all private sector industries as the national economy

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: How the City's Economy is Working

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    (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)


    January 29, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: How the City's Economy is Working

    samuels ortiz wbaiJulie Samuels of Tech:NYC and Joey Ortiz of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition joined the show to discuss the New York City economy, jobs and workforce development, the tech sector and how tech is part of all other sectors, and

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  • Policymakers Can’t Have It Both Ways If They Want to Save Jobs

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    (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    The number of jobs in New York City reached an all-time high this year, bringing the unemployment rate to record lows. We are the envy of the nation. But there is one key sector where jobs are declining. For the first time in more than a decade, we are seeing job losses among restaurants and food service establishments.

    In an attempt to halt some of these losses, City Council Members Brad Lander and Adrienne Adams introduced legislation to prohibit employers from firing fast food workers without just cause, meaning

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  • New York City Residents and Economy are Generating an Increasingly Large Share of State Government Resources

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    (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    New York City and its economy have been growing at an extraordinary pace in recent years - it is quite clear that the city is generating jobs, development, and wealth. It continues to have major problems - affordable housing and homelessness crises, a deteriorated mass transit system, and nearly 20% of its population still trapped in poverty - but its overall economy has been growing.

    This growth is occurring in the context of a set of perennial questions, both during state budget season when the

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  • New York City Tourism Industry Deserves Credit for Major Job Growth

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    (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Over the past two decades, tourism to New York City has swelled from 33 million to nearly 63 million annual visitors, with powerful ripples throughout the city’s economy. Once just one sector among many, tourism has risen to become one of the top four employment drivers in the city, according to a new report published by the Center for an Urban Future, the Association for a Better New York, and the Times Square

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  • Contrary to Cuomo Claim, Upstate Economy Faltered This Century, Not Last

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    Gov. Cuomo upstate (photo: The Governor's Office)


    Governor Cuomo described the Upstate New York economy as suffering from a “bad 50 years “ as he tried to explain why it was hard to stimulate rapid growth in the region’s economy, which has grown far more slowly than the rest of the state and nation (see my prior column: Upstate New York is Home to Heavy Voter Turnout, Major State Investment, and

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  • Dissecting Mayor De Blasio's Record As He Seeks Reelection

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    Mayor Bill de Blasio & First Lady Chirlane McCray (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    As Mayor Bill de Blasio, a first-term Democrat, seeks reelection this fall, a close examination of his record is essential. De Blasio came into power promising to address inequlality in a variety of forms, including income, educational, policing, racial, and opportunity inequities he identified during his 2013 campaign. In this year's election de Blasio is running in part on his record, which is headlined by the

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  • De Blasio's Record on Jobs and The Economy

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    De Blasio at a business ribbon-cutting (photo: Ed Reed/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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    In the four years since Mayor Bill de Blasio took

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  • Give New York Manufacturers the Space They Need

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    photo: William Alatriste


    In November, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito released a manufacturing policy that makes a strong commitment to the city’s Industrial Business Zones (IBZs). This is the culmination of a growing consensus among certain sectors of the city, from the Progressive Caucus of the City Council to the ...

  • De Blasio Releases Cautious $82 Billion Preliminary Budget

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    De Blasio presents his budget (Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office) 


    New York City's fiscal year begins July 1. As the city moves toward a fiscal year 2017 budget agreement between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council by June 30, the mayor began the process on Thursday when he unveiled his preliminary budget, which comes in at $82.1 billion.

    De Blasio didn't outline any major new initiatives, instead focusing on fiscal discipline, building reserves, and making "targeted investments," including in

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  • City Council Developing New Protections for Workers in ‘Gig’ Economy

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    Council Member Lander with carwash workers (photo: William Alatriste)


    There are more than 1.3 million freelancers working in New York City and with the help of the City Council, these workers may soon be afforded certain protections on par with full-time workers.

    Initially focused on wage protection and health benefits, Council members and advocates are also looking at legislation to expand

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