What's The [DATA] Point

2,268 is the average daily number of people in adult psychiatric centers in New York State, a decrease from a peak of more than 93,000 people in 1955. Stephen Eide, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, discusses the impacts of deinstitutionalization in New York.

18.6% is the poverty rate in New York City. Greg David and Cara Eisenpress, both from Crain's New York Business and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, discuss their recent reporting exploring New York City's safety net, how it's funded, and how it compares to other places (hint: a lot better).

The data point for today is 1981, the year in which the State Legislature enacted S7000A, the landmark bill that formalized the current property tax system for New York City. A response to the Hellerstein case, which found the system was in violation of State law, S7000A essentially codified the status quo.

In doing so, it established a system of property classification, fractional assessments, caps, phase-ins, and class shares that is still with us 37 years later. These structural features and statutory requirements are the root of the system’s inequities and complexities. A home worth $500,000 can face the same tax bill as a home worth $1.5 million, while the value of a condominium unit, according to the City, is a fraction of its sale price. In fact, some buildings have values that are below the sale price of individual units. And commercial and rental property faces a higher average property tax burden than 1-, 2- and 3-family homes.

These inequities and problems have led to repeated calls for reform, including pending litigation. This past May, Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson formed the Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform. In September, the Citizens Budget Commission, the Regional Plan Association, and NYU Robert Wagner School of Public Service held a panel to discuss the problem, inequities and potential reforms

3 is the number of proposals on the November 6 ballot from Mayor de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission. In this episode Commission Chair Cesar Perales discusses the proposed amendments.

8 is the number of years Andrew Cuomo has served as the 56th Governor of New York State. CBC's David Friedfel and Patrick Orecki join the podcast to discuss the demographic, fiscal, and policy trends of the last 8 years.

90% is the share of NYCHA units CBC estimates may not be cost effective to repair by 2027 under the current trajectory of deterioration. NYCHA Interim Chair and CEO Stan Brezenoff joined CBC to discuss the policy and funding challenges facing NYCHA, and how he plans to tackle key areas in desperate need of improvement.

45 is the number of agencies that submitted performance metrics to the recently released Mayor's Management Report. Agencies organize their reports according to service areas and goals, and present the indicators to help the public understand agency performance. NYC's Deputy Mayor of Operations Laura Anglin joined the podcast to discuss how the city uses data to improve the operations and performance of key city agencies.

3.1 miles is the length of the newly constructed Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. At a cost of $4 billion dollars, the bridge was financed with debt, but no new tolls have been announced to repay it. CBC's Patrick Orecki explains why the toll may need to double from current rates.

Since Bloomberg Associates was launched in 2014, participating cities have invested more than $1 billion in initiatives supported or created by the philanthropic consultancy. Former NYC Deputy Mayor and Bloomberg Associates Principal Linda Gibbs joins the podcast to talk about her work using data to effect change in NYC and other cities.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan to close the jails on Rikers Island, in part by reducing the overall city jail population to 5,000 detainees, down from about 8,200 now, which is down from well over 20,000 two decades ago. Liz Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, joined the podcast to discuss the closure of Rikers and the administration’s other criminal justice policies.