New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is calling on the federal
government to deliver more relief to the city as it claws its way back from the
coronavirus crisis.
He warned the pandemic will leave the city financially exposed
as tax revenues fall by over $8 billion and one in five New Yorkers lose their
job.
“We’re facing the deepest recession since the Great
Depression, marked by historic and rapid job losses,” said Stringer. “In a
crisis this severe, the federal government must step up and deliver relief to
New York – the economic engine for the nation.”
According to the comptroller, New York was short-changed in the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund, part of the CARES Act. At over 170,000 cases of the deadly virus, the city received $8,500 per COVID case. However, states such as Montana, with 457 cases, got $2.7 million per case.
“This pandemic has laid bare the deep disparities that
permeate our society. We’re learning the value of a dollar, and why our
taxpayer money must be accounted for and directed toward fighting the systemic
inequality that is contributing to worse health and economic outcomes for
vulnerable communities,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.
The call came as Stringer release his analysis of the City’s
Fiscal Year 2021 Executive Budget and outlined the state of play for the City’s
finances.
The new analysis of the Executive Budget spotlights the
City’s overreliance on reserves and one-time savings, and Comptroller Stringer federal
need-based budget relief and more recurring savings and efficiencies were
needed to close the city’s budget gap, protect the social safety net, and
support city workers.
“Our analysis pulls
back the curtain on our City’s budget and presents the reality of our economic
outlook. We’re facing the deepest recession since the Great Depression, marked
by historic and rapid job losses,” said Stringer.
“ Every year New York taxpayers put more into the federal
coffers than New York receives in federal dollars, and it is unacceptable for
Congress to be passing the buck– instead of passing robust local aid. And as a
City, we need to comb through our budget for savings, because every penny
counts, and every effort must be made to protect our most vulnerable. When we
look back at this time, it must be said that government stood up for our city,
marshaled all our resources, and did everything we could to save lives and get
our economy back on track.”
The Comptroller’s analysis
of the Executive Budget accounts for recent developments driving the current,
dire economic outlook.
The national economy is facing the steepest recession of
modern times– likely twice as deep as the Great Recession of 2008.
The Comptroller’s office
projects that more than 900,000 New Yorkers will lose their jobs by the end of
the second quarter in June – one in five working New Yorkers.
