Reports

This report details the growth in Medicaid enrollment before and during the pandemic, as well as evaluating those enrollment changes in relation to the economy’s performance. The report also evaluates risks that could result from more enrollees remaining on Medicaid than projected, and offers recommendations for policy makers as we strive to effectively manage this essential program.

The Department of Taxation and Finance is responsible for administering more than 40 State and localities, including the sales and use tax. Provisions of State Tax impose a tax on sales of taxable personal property and certain services, with some exemptions and require vendors that makes these sales to register for a Certificate of Authority, collect the tax from customers, and remit the tax to the State. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted sales tax collections due to restrictions on businesses throughout 2020 and 2021. Collections have since begun to rebound, and, as of May 2021...

The COVID-19 pandemic drove the Office of the New York State Comptroller to move forward creatively and identify new ways to tap into and analyze data. Auditors and examiners pursued increased data analysis and used a wider variety of data sources in audit planning and risk assessment, including the Statewide Financial System, First New York data warehouse, New York Benefits Eligibility and Accounting System, CVS Health, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, as well as internal State agency data.

This report details the operation of the New York State UI system, the recent history and specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Trust Fund, and steps that can be taken to replenish the Trust Fund balance. Working together, New York State, participating employers and the federal government can develop solutions that restore the Trust Fund while allowing the ongoing economic recovery to continue.

We have conducted an audit of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) to determine whether its Division of Housing and Community Renewal (Division) is obtaining federal reimbursements on time and in a manner that recovers all costs, and adequately ensures the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) meets federal reimbursement documentation requirements. The audit covered the period from April 1, 2017 through December 31, 2020.

Millions of Americans still face housing insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 15 percent behind on rent payments at the end of June.1 Households in New York State (22 percent) and the New York City metropolitan area (26 percent), excluding counties outside the State, have an even greater share of residents behind on rent. New York City not only houses the majority of the State’s renters (63 percent), but also had relatively high rates of rent-burdened tenants prior to the pandemic.

This interim report is being issued as part of an ongoing investigation by the Office of the New York City Comptroller into the City’s planning and preparation for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this investigation is to identify the problems encountered by the City preparing for and combatting the pandemic and to recommend actions to prevent similar fiscal and operational challenges from arising in future public health emergencies.

The objective of this audit was to determine if the Office of Mental Health is adequately monitoring the delivery and performance of telemental health services and ensuring that related telemental health activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bronx was on a trajectory of growth. It attracted new residents, particularly immigrants, at a higher rate than any other borough, and experienced solid improvement in employment and new businesses. In spite of these trends, most Bronx neighborhoods faced higher risks for negative health and economic outcomes from the pandemic. Characteristics that reflect economic and social inequities, such as lower household incomes, higher poverty rates, jobs less conducive to remote work and a higher share of minority residents, made the Bronx particularly vulnerable.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a halt to the growth of the construction industry nationwide which, prior to the pandemic, had been growing strongly. This was especially true in New York State and New York City. Before 2020, the nation’s construction employment increased for nine consecutive years, though it never met the peak reached before the Great Recession. However, in the State and the City, jobs reached a record high by 2015. Construction employment in the City grew especially robustly, rising by 43.5 percent from 2011 to 2019, the City’s fastest-growing sector during this period.