When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many businesses in retail trade, restaurant, and arts, entertainment and recreation closed. This report examines the damage the pandemic has inflicted on those sectors, and considers the distribution of federal funds for businesses in the City, particularly for businesses in low- and moderate-income communities and in historically underutilized business zones.
New York City’s restaurant, retail and recreation (RRR) sectors continued to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic, even before the latest surge in cases, with 169,700 fewer jobs in November than from two years ago, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The losses accounted for 41% of total private sector jobs lost in the city during the pandemic.
A look back at some of the major accomplishments of the Office of the New York State Comptroller in 2021, including achieving a record 33.5% investment return for the State pension fund, protecting the pension fund by divesting from coal and oil sands companies while investing in sustainable and low-carbon opportunities, tracking employment and economic trends while closely monitoring pandemic relief programs, returning $348 million in lost money to rightful owners, and more.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler and the New York State Police announced the arrest of Thomas McKelevey, 70, of Middletown for allegedly stealing nearly $90,000 from the City of Middletown by claiming overlapping hours on his time sheets when he worked for both the City of Middletown and the Town of Crawford from 2012 to 2019. In addition to allegedly defrauding the municipalities, McKelvey’s deception allowed him to falsely inflate his retirement benefit and defraud the pension system in excess of $5,000.
I'm proud of the work we've done to ensure government is held accountable and serves the people of New York effectively and efficiently. Look at some of our major accomplishments of 2021.
In November, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,460 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $2.5 billion and approved nearly 2.3 million payments worth more than $10.5 billion. The Office rejected 119 contracts and related transactions valued at $160.8 million and nearly 5,700 payments valued at more than $8.3 million, primarily for mistakes, insufficient support for charges, and improper payments. More information on these contracts and payments is available at Open Book New York.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following local government audits were issued.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today announced the following school district audits were issued.
New York City forecasts a surplus of $965 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2022, based largely on the receipt of $750 million in unrestricted federal aid, and projects outyear gaps to drop by nearly a third from earlier estimates. Despite the positive news, the Office of the State Comptroller has identified several risks that could pose challenges to the City’s budget in the future.
Statewide local sales tax collections grew by 17.5% in November compared to the same month in 2020. Overall, local collections totaled almost $1.6 billion, up $235 million from November of last year. Collections for the month were also notably robust when compared to pre-pandemic levels, up 9.2% (or $133 million) from November of 2019.
