MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE UPGRADES NEW YORK CITY’S GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND CREDIT RATING FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2007

Rating now equal to New York State, a rarity for the State’s municipalities

  For the first time since 2007, Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the City of New York’s General Obligation Bond credit rating. The rating was upgraded from Aa2 to Aa1, their second highest rating and equivalent to New York State’s Aa1 rating, which is significant because a local government is rarely rated as high as its home state. The Aa1 rating is the highest Moody’s credit rating the City has ever received.

Moody’s increased the City’s rating due to its increased economic diversity and decreased reliance on revenue from Wall St., its highly skilled workforce, first-class education and medical centers and low crime rates, among other factors. The upgrade is attributable to the City’s ongoing strong financial management – including the highest level of reserves the city has ever seen, affording it greater flexibility to respond to the next economic downturn.

Moody’s Investors Service rating can be found here.

“For the last five years, we’ve used the City’s budget to improve the lives of New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Moody’s credit rating is validation of what we’ve always known: that you can be both a progressive and a strong fiscal manager.”

Additionally, Moody’s upgraded the City’s outstanding appropriation-backed debt, including debt issued by the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation, the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the New York City Educational Construction Fund, and the New York City Industrial Development Agency (New York Stock Exchange Project) from Aa3 to Aa2.

The City expects the upgraded rating to lower debt service costs, enabling it to more efficiently borrow and finance its capital projects, such as maintaining the city’s infrastructure.

Next week the City plans to offer approximately $986 million of General Obligation bonds to refund outstanding bonds.

In January, Mayor de Blasio announced his $92.2 Preliminary Budget for FY2020, a balanced budget that continues to fund critical services for New Yorkers and promotes fairness across New York City while also demonstrating fiscal responsibility. In addition to expanding programs such as 3-K for All, the Mayor called for $750 million in mandatory savings which will be achieved in part by deepening the City’s Partial Hiring Freeze and implementing the Administration’s first Program to Eliminate the Gap.

Statement from New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on Moody’s Investors Services

  “I am thrilled with Moody’s vote of confidence in New York City’s economy. A higher bond rating means lower borrowing costs for the City, which means additional resources to help fund our city schools, parks and other critical services, as well as more money to help us weather whatever economic challenges may come our way. That said, maintaining the city’s fiscal strength is a full-time job, so while we celebrate today’s good news, we at the Comptroller’s Office remain doubly committed to continuing our progress through careful oversight of the city’s budget and economy.”

Comptroller Stringer on FY 2020 Preliminary Budget: City Needs a Robust Savings Plan to Protect Vital Services for New York Families

Agency Watch List reveals lack of accountability and results despite record spending at the Department of Correction, Department of Buildings, and multi-agency spending on homeless services

Comptroller’s analysis of the City’s proposed FY 2020 budget shows budget gaps closed using numerous one-time actions instead of recurring savings

Stringer calls for increasing the City’s budget cushion to 15 percent of total spending by FY 2023 to protect the social safety net  

  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer delivered his annual analysis of New York City’s Preliminary Fiscal Year 2020 budget which revealed a lack of financial preparedness for potential future economic uncertainty, and an absence of tangible results despite increased record spending at three City agencies.  Comptroller Stringer’s analysis found the proposed FY 2020 budget relies on numerous one-time actions to balance the budget and called for a goal of increasing the City’s budget cushion to 15% of total spending to sufficiently prepare the City for unforeseen events and protect programs that lift up New Yorkers.  Additionally, the Comptroller’s Agency Watch List –  which spotlights city departments without demonstrable results for their spending –  revealed record multi-agency spending on homeless services, which is projected to reach nearly $3 billion even as the shelter population continues to rise.  Meanwhile, the Department of Correction is spending over $300,000 per detainee as incidents of violence increase.  New for this year, Comptroller Stringer added the Department of Buildings to his Agency Watch List due to a 252% increase in construction accidents since FY 2014, despite increasing spending by 62% over the same period.

“The City’s budget is a statement about our values, it’s our opportunity each year to consider how we are serving working families and promoting policies that will empower all New Yorkers.  While there are some critical initiatives included in the FY 2020 budget, we must be doing more to reach a balanced, sustainable budget and ensure that city agencies are accountable for the public money they spend,” said Comptroller Stringer.  “Our budget needs to be balanced for the long term, not just for the next year, so that we can ensure that vital initiatives and services for families and seniors go uninterrupted regardless of the broader economy.  To reach that goal we need to build up our budget cushion and conduct a more rigorous review of agency spending to root out inefficiencies and waste.”

The Comptroller’s wide-ranging presentation covered several aspects of the City Preliminary Budget and the state of the City’s economy, including:

Overview of the FY 2020 Preliminary Budget

• Spending growth is 2.1%, adjusted for the anticipated use of the FY 2019 surplus to prepay certain FY 2020 expenses;
• Spending is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 2.3% over the entire Plan period, fiscal years 2019 to 2023;
• In contrast, revenues are projected to grow at an average rate of 1.8% each year until FY 2023, resulting in budget gaps of $3.5 billion in FY 2021, $2.9 billion in FY 2022, and $3.3 billion in FY 2023; and
• So far this year, the February Plan shows a projected $3.2 billion budget surplus in FY 2019, $1.4 billion less than the $4.6 billion budget surplus of FY 2018.

The Economic Outlook is Clouded with Risk

• While the City’s economy is still growing, the Comptroller’s office forecasts that growth will slow in coming years;
• The short-run stimulus effects of federal tax cuts and spending will wear off just as the national economy reaches the late stages of the nearly decade-long expansion, and global growth slows sharply;
• As a result, economic growth in the City is expected to decelerate, with job growth falling from nearly 90,000 new jobs per year since the end of the Great Recession in 2010, to under 35,000 on average from 2020 through 2023; and
• The State Budget faces growing challenges, following a $2.3 billion personal income tax revenue shortfall – which puts State aid to the City at increasing risk.

City Must Manage the Budget More Aggressively to Address the Growing Risks

The City’s projected budget cushion – the budget resources available at the beginning of each fiscal year to help the City weather unexpected events without cutting vital services for New York families – is currently in

• The optimal range for the City’s reserve cushion is between 12% and 18% of spending;sufficient, at just 9.5% of adjusted FY 2020 spending.
• At the start of the last recession in FY 2009, the City’s budget cushion was equivalent to nearly 18% of spending;
• Progress in increasing the cushion has stalled at around 11% since FY 2017;
• As of the February Plan, the City’s projected accumulated surplus is over $1.4 billion less than at the start of the year; and
• To reach the lower bound of the optimal range, the City needs to add more than $2 billion to the budget cushion before the FY 2020 budget is adopted.
• Comptroller Stringer is calling on the City to increase savings and other actions to reach a target for the budget cushion of 15% of total spending by FY 2023 in order to prepare for economic uncertainty.

Use of One-Shots

• The City has relied too heavily on “one-shots” – non-recurring resources which could be held for use when they are more urgently needed – in building the FY 2019 surplus;
• This includes $371 million in funds from NYC Health and Hospitals deferred from prior years and bank settlements; and
• Property sales totaling over $118 million.

Need for Vigorous Agency Savings Plan

The Mayor will re-institute a Program to End the Gap, or PEG, of $750 million for FY 2019 and FY 2020, with targets to be set individually by agency.

• The Mayor’s proposed PEG target of $750 million represents just 0.9% of City funds agency budgets for FY 2019 and FY 2020 – assuming all savings are realized through agency savings and not through actions such as debt service savings or other non-agency actions;
• In the past, City agencies contributed more relative to the City-funds budget, with average agency savings equal to about 2.7% of City-funds agency expenditures from FY 2008 through FY 2013;
• The average agency savings in the Citywide Savings Program since FY 2015 amounts to 1.0%; and
• Comptroller Stringer once again recommends that City agencies do a serious scrub of their budgets and operations to identify more savings and efficiencies to help address potential risks.

Agency Watch List

This year the Comptroller continues the Agency Watch List of City agencies that are of most concern when it comes to budgeting, and adds to them the Department of Buildings.

DHS: Citywide Spending for Homeless Services Continues to Rise While Homeless Population Grows

• Citywide spending on homelessness across all agencies has more than doubled from $1.3 billion in FY 2014 to a projected $2.9 billion in FY 2020;
• Spending on shelters alone has doubled since FY 2014 – from $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion in FY 2020; and
• Despite major investments in prevention and housing, the number of individuals residing in shelters has steadily increased from 51,770 in 2014 to 60,366 as of February 2019.

DOC: Jail Population Continues to Fall, but Spending – and Violence – Still Rising

• In the last decade, the average daily jail population has declined by fully one third, from 13,850 in 2008 to under 9,000 in 2018;
• But over the same period, the average annual cost of housing someone on Rikers has more than doubled, from about $117,000 in 2008 to over $300,000 in 2018; and
• The number of violent incidents against both detainees and correctional officers has more than tripled over the same period, from 441 per 1,000 average daily population in 2008 to 1,354 per 1,000 average daily population in 2018.

DOB:  Spending and Headcount Have Grown, but Construction Safety Has Gotten Worse

• Since FY 2014, the Department of Buildings budget has grown 62%, and headcount has increased by over 50%, to 1,565 employees;
• Over the same period, however, the number of construction accidents – including fatalities – has skyrocketed, with accidents climbing 252%, and fatalities by 167%; and
• Similarly, while the number of plan examiners has increased sixfold, the number of new construction permits issued has only grown by 13%.

Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study: Draft recommendations for Morris Park and Parkchester/Van NestBronx Metro-North Station Area Study: Draft recommendations for Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest

Let's continue the conversation!

• Learn about draft recommendations for Morris Park and Parkchester/Van Nest
• Share your perspective and priorities
• Guide investments and strategies

To ensure all members of the community have an opportunity to participate, we will be holding two events.

FIRST EVENT

WHEN Wednesday, March 27, 2019 4PM–7PM (Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHERE 1300 Morris Park Ave Lubin Hall Albert Einstein College of Medicine

SECOND EVENT

WHEN Saturday, March 30, 2019 10AM–1PM (Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHERE 2380 E Tremont Ave St Raymond's Elementary School Monsignor Tierney Auditorium (Enter at corner of E Tremont Ave and Purdy St)

Light refreshments will be provided. For any questions or special needs, please email bmns@planning.nyc.gov or call 718 220 8500

Find Out More

To ensure all members of the community have an opportunity to participate, we will be holding two events.

To ensure all members of the community have an opportunity to participate, we will be holding two events.

FIRST EVENT

FIRST EVENT

WHEN Wednesday, March 27, 2019 4PM–7PM (Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHEN

Wednesday, March 27, 2019
4PM–7PM
(Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHERE 1300 Morris Park Ave Lubin Hall Albert Einstein College of Medicine

WHERE

1300 Morris Park Ave
Lubin Hall
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
 

SECOND EVENT

SECOND EVENT

WHEN Saturday, March 30, 2019 10AM–1PM (Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHEN

Saturday, March 30, 2019
10AM–1PM
(Self-paced activities. Come when you wish and stay for long as you are able to.)

WHERE 2380 E Tremont Ave St Raymond's Elementary School Monsignor Tierney Auditorium (Enter at corner of E Tremont Ave and Purdy St)

WHERE

2380 E Tremont Ave
St Raymond's Elementary School
Monsignor Tierney Auditorium
(Enter at corner of E Tremont Ave and Purdy St)
 

Light refreshments will be provided. For any questions or special needs, please email bmns@planning.nyc.gov or call 718 220 8500

Light refreshments will be provided. For any questions or special needs, please email bmns@planning.nyc.gov or call 718 220 8500

Find Out More

Find Out More

Senator Biaggi to host District Budget Forum Saturday March 2

 

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D - District 34: Bronx/Westchester) invites the people of District 34 to come share their priorities for the state budget on Saturday, March 2, at 3pm at Manhattan College.

Kelly Commons, Room 5B 3900 Waldo Avenue Bronx, NY 10463

 

B J C CELEBRATES PURIM WITH THE COMMUNITY :

The Bronx Jewish Center located at 1969 Haight Avenue Bx NY 10461  is proud to celebrate the joyous holiday  of Purim on Thursday March 21st starting at  5:30pm with its Bronx community. We are having Purim under the Big Top with a festive meal,circus party, hamantashen (special cookies) and cotton candy.There will  be  magic, a seen to be believed fire juggler  and an artist  to draw your picture and face painting  for the kids.Children of all ages are urged to attend. PLEASE  RSVP to- email:office @bronxjewishcenter.org or call us at 718-812-1701. 

Attorney General James Announces New Funding For Landlord Ambassador Program To Support And Preserve Multifamily Properties

$1.5 million to be awarded to community organizations to engage property owners and help preserve vulnerable rental housing 

  Attorney General Letitia James today announced a new program to preserve multifamily housing across New York State. The “Landlord Ambassador Program” engages property owners at risk of losing their buildings. The program, a collaborative effort with Enterprise Community Partners, provides landlords of small- and medium-sized multifamily dwellings with low-cost financial resources.  

“Too many landlords in New York state are simply underwater, struggling to access the necessary resources to maintain their buildings,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “The Landlord Ambassador Program keeps property ownership in our neighborhoods, while bringing permanent housing solutions to communities. We know this innovative program works, and look forward to working with community organizations to sustain our state’s viable housing stock.” 

This statewide Landlord Ambassador Program is an expansion of a 2017 New York City initiative launched by the Office of Attorney General, New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Enterprise. This statewide expansion will allow for grants to be awarded to organizations operating anywhere in the state with the exception of New York City. 

Through this program, up to five community-based organizations will be selected as Landlord Ambassadors to operate regionally and work with local municipalities to identify troubled property portfolios and engage landlords to develop preservation outcomes. 

“Connecting owners of rental buildings to low-cost preservation resources is vital to keeping New York State’s homes and neighborhoods stable and affordable,” said Judi Kende, Vice President and Market Leader, Enterprise Community Partners.  “The Landlord Ambassadors program leverages the expertise of non-profit housing organizations to provide owners with critical support to preserve much-needed affordable rental housing.” 

“Preserving and maintaining affordable housing for New York families requires a holistic approach that engages partners on all fronts,” said New York States Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas. “The Landlord Ambassador program will arm multifamily housing owners with information and connect them to HCR resources designed to keep properties safe and affordable for the long-term, rehabilitating distressed properties and strengthening our communities. This is the type of innovative community-based initiative that HCR is committed to as we work to carry out Governor Cuomo’s $20 billion plan to build and preserve more than 100,000 affordable homes across the state.” 

The Landlord Ambassadors will provide technical assistance to owners of small- to medium-sized multifamily housing to connect them to resources such as New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s Small Building Participating Loan Program (PLP) and HOME Local Program Small Rental Development Initiative (SRDI). These resources are vital to achieve the Landlord Ambassador Program’s goal to assist owners to upgrade and preserve their buildings for long-term affordability. The ambassadors will also expand opportunities for affordable housing developers to acquire occupied, distressed multifamily housing stock by coordinating with municipalities and owners to pursue preservation sale opportunities.  

Enterprise Community Partners is managing the Landlord Ambassador Program and will release a Request for Applications (RFA) today for community-based and community development organizations. Enterprise expects to award up to $1.5 million to organizations over a 2-year period. Applications are due April 26th and awards are expected to be announced by the end of May. To obtain more information about the eligibility for RFA and learn how to apply, please visit this link.  

Women.NYC: DEPUTY MAYOR ALICIA GLEN AND MAYOR’S OFFICE OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE INAUGURAL ROUND OF GRANT RECIPIENTS OF GROUNDBREAKING “MADE IN NY” WOMEN’S FILM, TV & THEATRE FUND

The Fund is part of the City’s women.nyc initiative to economically empower women.

63 Women-Led Projects Selected to Receive a Combined $1.5 Million in Funds.

14 theatre projects and 10 feature-length documentaries are among the awardees receiving up to $50,000

  Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) Acting Commissioner Anne del Castillo today announced the first round of grant recipients of the “Made in NY” Women’s Film, TV & Theatre Fund. Funds were awarded to 63 film, TV, theatre and digital media projects made by creative entrepreneurs who identify as women. This is the first round of a $5 million, three-year program funded by MOME and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).

The Fund is part of the City’s women.nyc initiative, which helps women succeed by connecting them with resources and tools, including free expert legal advice, financial assistance, networking and mentorship opportunities.

“Today, exceptional women creators, directors, and producers are still not getting the recognition and professional success they deserve.” said Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. “As a leading entertainment capital, New York City is no longer willing to accept this status quo. With our groundbreaking Women’s Fund for Film & Theatre, more women will be able to fund their creative ventures and secure the resources they need to see their work on the big screen or stage. We are proud to close the industry’s opportunity gap and open doors for women of all backgrounds.” 

The Women's Film, TV and Theatre Fund is the centerpiece of a groundbreaking series of initiatives by MOME to address the underrepresentation of women in film, television, and theatre. These initiatives are unique, making New York the first city in the country to launch a multi-faceted program to help female-identified creatives in film, TV and theatre.  

“By making significant investments in women-led projects, the Women’s Fund seeks to increase the pipeline of female-identified creatives in front of and behind the camera, and on stage,” said Media and Entertainment Acting Commissioner Anne del Castillo. “The 63 projects receiving this first round of grants portray the complexity and variety of human experience as told by an incredibly diverse group of women. This milestone affirms New York City’s commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry.”

A total of 544 applications were received and evaluated by esteemed panels of industry experts. Projects in the following categories were awarded finishing grants:

·         14 Theatre Productions – each received up to $50,000

·         11 Documentary Features  – each received up to $50,000

·         4 Fiction Features – each received up to $50,000

·         10 Fiction Short – each received up to $25,000

·         9 Documentary Shorts – each received up to $25,000

·         9 Fiction Webisode/Webseries – each received up to $20,000

·       6 Documentary Webisodes/Webseries – each received up to $20,000

The projects selected for funding explore a broad range of topics. A documentary feature follows 40 Central American women who make an annual journey to search for children who went missing while crossing the border. A comedic web series features a young Asian-American woman beginning a journey of sexual discovery after reluctantly enrolling in a Women’s Studies class. A dramatic feature explores the relationship between a trans Filipina working as a caregiver in Brighton Beach and a Russian-Jewish man. Among the theater projects is a musical based on the origin story of Hildegard von Bingen, one of Medieval history’s most powerful and creative women. The Negro Ensemble Company received funding for three plays one of which is a reimagined work by the late Ntozake Shange. For a full list of projects click here.

Applications were evaluated by industry experts, including Tracey Scott Wilson, playwright and Executive Producer on “The Americans” series, actors Daphne Rubin-Vega and Kathleen Chalfant, screenwriter Amy Fox, and Lesli Klainberg, the executive director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.  The full list of panelists can be found here.

“We’re honored that the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment entrusted us to administer this groundbreaking program,” said Michael L. Royce, Executive Director, NYFA. “NYFA has a long history of supporting artists at all stages of their creative careers, including many female or female-identifying artists and artists of color who have made a significant impact in their fields and in the larger cultural sphere. It’s exciting for us to continue to support unique voices and perspectives through the Women's Film, TV and Theatre Fund.”

Women in TV accounted for only 27% of all creators, directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors and directors of photography in the 2017-2018 season; and women comprised 20% of all directors, writers, producers, executive directors, editors and cinematographers in the top 250 films in 2018, according to the Center for the Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. This past season, only 19 percent of Broadway productions were helmed by women, a record high.

If the 2019 Academy Awards are an indication, women’s film projects are gaining even more momentum. A record total of 15 women took home the award this year, including New York City legend Lady Gaga and New York-born Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, co-director of the winning documentary, Free Solo. Still, only one woman has won Best Director in 91 years of Oscar history, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. 

In addition to being “made by, for, or about” all who identify as women, projects were eligible if they feature a strong female perspective; and/or include a female-identified director; and/or include a meaningful female-identified producer credit; and/or include a meaningful female-identified writing credit; and/or include a female-identified protagonist(s).  Projects also had to be "Made in NY"; for film and video projects (1) 75% of its total shooting days take place in New York City, or (2) 75% of its below-the-line production costs are incurred in New York City; theatre projects must be rehearsed and performed in New York City. For a complete listing of the guidelines, click here.

The “Made in NY” Women’s Film, TV and Theatre Fund provides grants to encourage and support the creation of film, television, digital, and live theatre content that reflects the voices and perspectives of all who identify as women, and provides finishing grants for film, television, digital projects and theatre productions.  The next award cycles are scheduled to commence Summer/Fall of 2019 and 2020.  To sign up for updates on the Fund, visit MOME's website.  You can use hashtag #NYCWomensFund to participate in the conversation.