State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2020-21 will long be remembered for the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and for the resilience demonstrated by New Yorkers in responding to the multitude of challenges.

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the State of New York for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.

The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the New York State and Local Retirement System (the System or NYSLRS) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTA has been in a state of existential crisis. The Comptroller’s annual report on the MTA’s finances details how the combination of higher spending, the winding down of federal aid, the risk of lower ridership levels, increased impact from extreme weather, potential service reductions and other factors put the MTA in danger starting in 2025.

The crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic came at a time when NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) had been working toward stabilizing its financial situation. Since 2015, it has been introducing initiatives to increase revenue collections through improving billing procedures, negotiating higher insurance rates, attracting and keeping patients, and lowering personnel costs. This report reviews H+H’s position before the pandemic, assesses the financial and operational impacts of its COVID-19 response, and weighs the long-term effects of the pandemic on the system.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of education across the country and in New York City, the nation’s largest public school system. During the pandemic, the City had to develop and implement novel remote learning protocols to continue educating students. Extraordinary levels of federal aid allowed the City to overcome these obstacles and implement a number of new initiatives to help students and address learning losses.

The historic surge in unemployment claims at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly depleted the New York State Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund, resulting in the State borrowing from the federal government to pay claims. State UI tax rates have already risen to the highest level permissible under law in 2021. Unless the State or federal government takes significant action, federal UI tax rates on employers will also increase in 2022 and beyond.

The State has made progress in making high-speed connections available to New Yorkers; nevertheless, there are still significant challenges. Many predominantly rural areas remain underserved. And one in three low-income households does not have access to broadband, which magnifies disparities in access to opportunities. High-speed connections are an imperative not only for economic development, but also for equality of opportunity.