The Municipal Water Finance Authority reports that drinking water quality, water supply, and wastewater treatment were not impacted by COVID, but the pandemic has negatively affected revenues. The System’s total operating revenues declined by nearly $164 million (4.3 percent) from FY 2019 to FY 2021.

The DSNY experienced a surge in medical leave during the first few weeks of the pandemic and has continued to experience spikes in employee unavailability. This factor, coupled with a FY 2021 hiring freeze which reduced uniformed staff by 9 percent (nearly 700 employees) between February 2020 and June 2021, has resulted in higher overtime costs.

To alleviate population density during the pandemic, the City accelerated the release of some inmates utilizing reintegration hotels with support services run by non-profit organizations. However, more than 1,200 correction officers had been reportedly infected with COVID-19 through March 2021.

Immediately following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, about one-fifth of firefighters and a quarter of EMS staff were unavailable for duty on medical leave. Meanwhile, medical emergency calls to 911 surged to the highest daily number in FDNY history (over 6,500).

Consistent with the citywide trend from February 2020 to October 2021, the NYPD experienced a decline in uniformed staffing levels (of 6 percent, more than 2,000 employees) from February 2020 to September 2021, due to relatively higher rates of officers retiring or otherwise leaving the force.

The Administration for Children’s Services has reported sharp declines in service levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. As schools operated remotely, the number of abuse and neglect reports from school staff and other mandated reporters slowed, resulting in fewer investigations by the agency.

NYCHA, like many landlords nationally, faced a significant decline in rent collections due to severe economic disruption and employment losses experienced as a result of the pandemic. The Authority has also seen increased delays in resolution times for non-emergency service requests, resulting from changes to work order guidelines on in-unit repairs during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, the shelter population had been growing at a somewhat steady rate, peaking at 61,110 people in January 2019. Since February 2020, just before the start of the pandemic, however, those numbers had been on the decline, before rising slightly in recent months. The decline was due in part to the federal and state eviction moratoriums that were issued during the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, enrollment in the City’s cash assistance program had been on the decline, reaching a record-low level of 325,000 people in March 2020. Enrollment then grew sharply, by about 20 percent between February 2020 and September 2020, when the caseload peaked at 391,432 people, before beginning to decline. However, since September 2021, after federal extended unemployment benefits came to an end, enrollment has risen again

New York City Health + Hospitals initially experienced some challenges with staffing and supply shortages and capacity limitations. As the pandemic unfolded, the agency assumed a significant role in planning for and responding to New York City’s public health emergency, launched the largest test and trace program in the country and implemented a vaccine program. The agency managed financially early in the pandemic due to the receipt of federal COVID-19 relief funding but, with the rise of new variants and subsequent increase in hospitalizations, costs continue to grow.