The Independent Budget Office of the City of New York released a five page report [pdf] yesterday projecting that beginning next year, the City will face a serious fiscal crisis when it runs a deficit of $3.1 billion. By 2011, that budget shortfall could more than double, to $6.3 billion. The projections merely take into account current trends in New York City and don't factor in the possibility of a widespread national recession. The title......

The Independent Budget Office released a report examining who might be affected by congestion pricing. The report, "Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into The Proposed 'Congestion Zone'" can be read here (PDF) but the topline is that drivers are middle-class and over half are from Nassau County, Westchester, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The report states, "Looking at the extremes of the earnings distribution for all congestion zone commuters, motor vehicle users were less likely......

The MTA is having a board meeting today and the big topic is fare hikes. As has been the scuttlebutt since the weekend, the MTA will be discussing an "overall increase in fare and toll revenues of 6.5 percent," according to board members who spoke to the NY Times. How that translates into actual numbers is unclear, but it does means the base per-ride fares and unlimited Metrocard monthly and weekly fares would probably rise.......

No one likes getting a parking ticket, but it's those instances when tickets are handed down unfairly that really make people crazy and determined to beat them. Sanford Young, a lawyer, spent two years and an estimated $10,000 to beat a $65 ticket in Manhattan Supreme Court. From The Post:Young got the ticket on Nov. 29, 2005, after he parked on First Avenue near East 70th Street to have dinner with a friend. He returned......

If the report released yesterday by the city's Independent Budget Office is true, it could get a lot more expensive to ride the MTA subways and buses in the future. The IBO believes that the MTA has to increase its revenues by 20% by 2010. That means subway and bus fares could go up at least 20% by 2010, making a single ride $2.40. The worst case scenario - where rates for other revenue......

In Congressional testimony in Washington D.C. yesterday, deputy NYPD commish Richard Falkenrath told lawmakers that he wakes up every morning braced for another terrorist attack. The method of attack? Simultaneous detonation of satchel bombs. Falkenrath, who was testifying in front of the Homeland Security Committee on a mass transit bill, also told House members that there have been 22 bomb threats and 31 leads related to subway attack plots this year. The proposed bill......

The special elections in Brooklyn and Staten Island were decided and then undecided in a matter of days. The newly elected Council members will have to wait until the final election results are tallied before they are sworn in. By “election results” we mean whether Dr. Mathieu Eugene’s seat in Brooklyn’s 40th District is the same place of his residency during the time of the election. Here’s a new activity for the NYU Republicans:......

It's not surprising news, but it's a reminder why people don't live in New York City. A report from the Independent Budget Office showed that New York City has the biggest tax burden than eight other big cities. In fact, NYC's tax burden is practically 50% higher than the average of cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix and San Diego. (We don't know where San Francisco, Boston, or Seattle......

In a few hours, Mayor Bloomberg will give his annual State of the City address. But the cat is out of the bag, as everyone is abuzz about how he will be discussing a $1 billion tax cut. Property taxes will be reduced, the city's 4% tax on clothing and shoes over $110 would be eliminated (you would still pay the state (and MTA)'s 4.375% sales tax), and small businesses would get tax breaks, too.......

For the "Too Good to Be True, So It's Just Not True" file: The NY Times reports that 23 year old Daniel Markovitz "told people that he could get their parking fines reduced, saying that he knew someone in the Parking Violations Bureau or that he worked for a Web site that helped adjudicate tickets." Markovitz collected up to $780 from each person and did pay off fines for 53 parking tickets (which totaled $4,700).......

City government has never been sexier, as Standard & Poor's have given NYC an A+ to the city's debt rating, which is its best ever! So what does that mean? Public finance expert Dall W. Forsythe explains to the Times that the city can borrow at lower interest rates, more people will be willing to city bonds. And the Independent Budget Office points out to the NY Sun, "The lower your debt service costs, the......

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg presented a $52.7 billion budget for 2007 with measured spending, in spite of a $3.4 billion surplus. He said the city had to anticipate slowdowns in real estate and from Wall Street, plus rising gas prices, with budget deficits in 2006, 2009 and 2010 possible; another concern is being able to address the rising cost of city employees benefits, so he's spending a few billion now to "reduce long-term costs." The budget......

Way back in 2004, the city announced its super duper special NYC Tax Credit Program for film and TV producers (as well as commercial, music video, etc.) in order to motivate productions to happen here, versus Los Angeles or (gasp) Toronto. And it worked really well: Lindsay Lohan made a movie, Martin Scorsese shot a set-in-Boston movie mostly here, CBS brought us Love Monkey (then cancelled it), there's another Dick Wolf TV, plus countless......

Every year, Gothamist looks forward to the Independent Budget Office's ideas on how the city can save and make money. The IBO is a nonpartisan, publicly agency, and the report shows both the pros and cons of certain suggested measures. Here are some of the suggestions:State Reimbursement for Inmates in City Jails Awaiting Trial Over One Year Establish a Progressive Commuter Tax Health Insurance Copayment by City Employees Increase the Auto Use Tax 'On the......

It's so nice to see what a little pressure can do: Bruce Ratner and his Forest City Ratner group have increased their bid to $100 million for the Atlantic railyards. Ratner wants to put not only a Brooklyn Nets Frank Gehry-designed arena there but thousands of condos and countless square feet for offices (the Times loved the design). This higher bid comes because of the lone rival bid from Extell, whose development plan lacks......

Real estate taxes have topped $29 billion this year, about $1.5 billion more than was expected last summer. While this seems like good news for the budget, it really isn't: Newsday reports that the 2007 budget has a "$3.5 billion hole in it." And City Comptroller William Thompson notes that outstanding issues that haven't been addressed in the budget are NYPD & NYPD contract negotiations and the need to fund city's schools, based on the......

Oh, Independent Budget Office, Gothamist looks forward to your suggestions every year. On Tuesday, the IBO, a City Hall watchdog group, has announced various measures raise money for the city. These ideas are both unhinged and totally sensible. Some of the ideas, per Newsday , the NY Times and the report itself: - Charging fees for plastic surgery - Charge every household for garbage collection depending on the volume of trash they produce - Increase......

Gothamist rounds up interesting movement in some of the big city development projects: - A City Council committee shot down plans for a BJ's Wholesale Club in the Bronx. The Daily News notes that labor unions were aggressively lobbying against the BJ's, as well as a potential Wal-Mart in Queens (as mentioned in yesterday's NY Times), with one lobbyist saying that this decision mean "The handwriting is on the Wal-Mart." Ha. But there are already......

A poll shows that Mayor Bloomberg would lose to Fernando Ferrer, former Bronx Borough President, in next year's mayoral election. People favored Ferrer 53% to 42% for Bloomberg; since the Mayor's support comes mainly from whites and Manhattan, we can expect the Mayor to have more events in the outer boroughs. What's interesting is that even though they don't support him, 74% of those polled in the Marist College Public Opinion Poll believed the mayor......

Independent Budget Office, you so crazy! Your proposal to raise money for New York City has something for everyone. The Times gives a sampling of some possible revenue sources (reporter Michael McIntire has a nice zinger at the end): Impose a 10-cents per cup tax on specialty coffee drinks; reinstate fares for the Staten Island ferry; end city subsidies for private school buses and textbooks; and eliminate grass clippings from trash collection. There is also......