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The
Five Borough Report
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Interesting Reports
New York Losing Comptetive
Edge
New York has been riding a wave
of national prosperity, but not distinguishing itself among competing cities,
according to a report on “New York’s Competitveness,” released by the Citizen’s
Budget Commission in July. The report compares NYC to 12 similar cities,
and ranks their performance in such fields as education, income, office
and housing stock, traffic, crime and even patents and on-time airplane
arrivals.
The report concludes that
New York City has made great strides in reducing crime, attracting tourism
and relieving “tax burden,” but that the city is greatly disadvantaged
by its aging infrastructure and slow-to-decline poverty. The report warns
that the city must remain on its path of reducing taxes and borrowing in
order to improve its comparative standing.
New York’s Dependence
on Welfare Surplus
New York State has benefitted
from welfare surpluses since the Federal government instituted block grants
to the states as a part of 1996’s “welfare reform” bill, according to the
Independent Budget Office. Because of the growing economy and welfare policies
that discourage new caseloads, the state and city have been left with larger
and larger surpluses - totally $6.7 billion over five years - from the
federal block grants, which have remained flat. The surplus money has gone
towards an expansion of child-care subsidies and welfare-to-work programs.
The IBO report warns that
an economic slowdown resulting in more welfare cases, or a decrease in
the block grants could reduce or eliminate the surpluses, and force both
New York State and City to choose between cutting services or raising taxes.
Garment Center Still in
Fashion
Manhattan’s Garment Center continues
to be a source of high-paying manufacturing jobs, but the industry is threatenedby
real estate pressure, according to a study from the New York Industrial
Retention Network.In 1987, the city established the Special Garment Center
District, a seven-block zone around the upper-30s in Manhattan, that prevented
the conversion of manufacturing space into office use, unless an equal
amount of new space was dedicated to manufacturing within the zone. The
result, according to the NYIRN, is that 73% of employment in the district
remains in the apparel industry, with average annual wages of about $38,000.
The report warns, however,
that the city has done little to enforce the zoning, and that garment tenants,
60% of whom face expiring leases in 2002, are increasingly uncertain about
the future. The report recommends a mix of legal action and inspections
to enforce the existing district, and the creation of new zones in Chinatown
and Brooklyn.
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