Strong oversight provisions need to be in place if New York broadens the authority of the state to enter into public-private partnerships or privately finance public projects, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a report today that looks at public-private partnerships in other parts of the country. In December 2011,... Read More →
Vehicles registered to pay highway use tax in New York have been required since January to affix a decal to the front bumper. But citations for failing to do so averaged $500 a month for February, March and April, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. The change… Read More →
The Federal Emergency Management Administration has approved New York’s request to increase the federal share of Superstorm Sandy recovery costs from 75 percent to 90 percent of the total, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this afternoon. The change will save the state and affected municipalities more than $380 million, he said…. Read More →
A total of three gas stations in Westchester and Rockland counties are among 25 in New York that Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has reached settlements with for price gouging customers following Superstorm Sandy last October, he announced today. His office filed lawsuits against four service stations—in Brooklyn and on Long… Read More →
Overtime earned by employees at state agencies increased almost 11 percent on 2012, to $529 million, escalating a trend that started in 2009, according to a report released today by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Total earnings for all state employees have declined in the past two years, but overtime pay… Read More →
President Barack Obama’s $3.8 budget proposal would further increases taxes on wealthy Americans and trim Social Security and other popular benefit programs in an attempt to rein in runaway deficits, USA TODAY reports. The tax and spending plan is two months late, which the administration says is due to the intensive “fiscal cliff” negotiations… Read More →
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is getting an additional $1 billion from the federal government to help cover the cost of recovering from Superstorm Sandy last fall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday. The money, which comes from the Federal Transit Administration, will go toward rebuilding damaged parts of the MTA’s subway,... Read More →
The 2013-14 state budget, which is scheduled to get final passage when the Assembly convenes tomorrow, includes more than $4.7 billion for public transportation systems in New York, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. That includes $3.3 million for Westchester County, $800,000 for Rockland and $7,400 for Putnam. That includes a 9.2 percent… Read More →
Funding for a mass transit system on Interstate 287 possibly could come from a special sales tax or toll revenues on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, The Journal News/Lohud.com reports today. Those were some of the controversial topics brought at a meeting of the mass-transit task force for the bridge yesterday…. Read More →
Town and county highway superintendents from across New York are calling on the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to increase state support for local roads and bridges. Funding for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program—CHIPS —has been flat since 2008, according to Sen. Tom O’Mara, R-Big Flats, Chemung County, and Assemblyman… Read More →
