Reinvent Albany

Testimony to MTA Board: Gov. Hochul Must Veto Two-Person Train Operator Bill

Misguided bill will do nothing to improve subway service, and instead add costs that will ultimately be paid by transit riders.

Read it here:

We dropped a new report re: train operations, everyone’s favorite topic. There’s some backstory that we will get too. But, the basic takeaway is modern train systems have moved away from two-person train ops. New York should, too! transitcosts.com/Train_Operat...

Yes. Veto this bill.

Report: 94% of World’s Subways Operated by One Person. Hochul Should Veto Bill Requiring Two - Reinvent Albany NYU Marron Center Report Shows 94% of the World’s Subway Systems Use One Person – Or Are Automated   Gov. Hochul Must Veto Wasteful, Politically-Motivated Bill Requiring Two Train Operators   An…

Report: 94% of World’s Transit Lines Operated by One Person

Hochul Should Veto Bill Requiring Two

See our statement on the new, important report out from NYU Marron's Transit Costs Project

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Micron says Onondaga chip fab delayed to late 2030. They want $1.7b more state/local subsidies on top of current $21b taxpayer handouts. Read about it here:
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Testimony: No to Micron Getting $880m in New Onondaga County Sales Tax Breaks - Reinvent Albany Reinvent Albany Testimony to Onondaga County Industrial Development AgencyWe Oppose Micron’s Request for $880 Million in Onondaga County Sales Tax Breaks Micron already getting more than $21.4…

Our testimony to Onondaga IDA: No to Micron Getting $880m in New Onondaga County Sales Tax Breaks. Micron is already getting more than $21.4 billion in government subsidies for Fabs 1 and 2 in Onondaga.

Check it out ⤵️

Our friends at @citizensunionny.bsky.social are hosting a public Q&A on NYC ballot question 6 (even-year elections) this Thurs, 10/30, from 6-7pm. Register for their webinar!

Film/TV “tax credits” are taxpayer-funded giveaways. 38 states now pay producers to film locally—even though independent studies find NO economic benefit. Economist J.C. Bradbury thinks they're one of the biggest wastes of state tax money.

Plus, $2b in Micron tax breaks. buff.ly/DfJzI8x

New York can’t fix one problem by creating another. When IDAs hand out tax breaks without creating jobs, they drain the revenue that keeps our schools strong. We need affordable housing and well-funded schools — not one at the expense of the other.

Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes measure that set deadline for agencies to comply with public information requests The governor said the bill "establishes arbitrary deadlines" that would apply "regardless of the complexity or length of any given request."

"Reinvent Albany, a good government group, had described it as the "most significant improvement" to the state’s public records law that the legislature had agreed upon in years.'

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Our new report with students in the State Policy Advocacy Clinic, Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell shows how IDA housing tax breaks are constitutionally questionable with little oversight—diverting revenue from schools and local services.
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An Illinois legislator proposed a bill to guarantee independent analysis and public hearings for all publicly funded sports projects — could NY do the same?

We could use it — see our list of NY sports subsidies rushed through with minimal public review in this week's Subsidy Sheet.

Recommendations from the report include:

✅2nd Passage of Uncap Justice Act sponsored by @alexbores.nyc and @bradhoylmansigal.bsky.social
✅Reform selection process for acting judges with increased evalution transparency, clear criteria, and public consultation

Backdoor to the Bench — Scrutinize Scrutinize Launches Judicial Profiles to Enhance Transparency in New York Courts

NEW report with scrutinize, "Backdoor to the Bench", finds NY’s constitutional cap on the number of Supreme Court judges spawns double dysfunction

Clogged courts resort to secretive, highly subjective selection of acting judges as workaround

Hochul Vetoes Transparency Bill Backed by Press Freedom and Watchdog Groups - Reinvent Albany Governor Fixes Nothing, Offers Nothing in Response to Persistent Public Concerns About Deeply Dysfunctional Freedom of Information Process  New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) process is…

Statement: Hochul Vetoes Transparency Bill Backed by Press Freedom and Watchdog Groups

Governor Fixes Nothing, Offers Nothing in Response to Persistent Public Concerns About Deeply Dysfunctional Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Process

Read it here:

Transparency Groups to Hochul: Sign Bill Speeding Up FOIL - Reinvent Albany Today, we are reissuing this joint memo of support for the FOIL Timing bill (S2520-B (Skoufis) / A3425-A (Raga)), the most significant improvement to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) passed by th...

Full memo here, supported by @commoncauseny.bsky.social @nypirg.bsky.social @lwvny.bsky.social @freedom.press reinventalbany.org/2025/08/tran...

🚨Transparency Boosting Bill on Hochul's Desk🚨

S2520-B/A3425-A by @jamesskoufis.bsky.social and Steven Raga is the most significant improvement to the Freedom of Information Law in years & would shorten the time the public waits for records. Governor Hochul should sign it.

New Report: Investing in the MTA Is Investing in America - Reinvent Albany New York’s MTA Paid Companies in Other States $19B Over 14 Years, Supporting up to 247,000 Jobs in Blue, Red, and Purple States Alike

Our report, Investing in the MTA is Investing in America: October 2025 Update, looked at MTA spending across 47 states.

Did you know that the MTA has purchased K-9s from companies in 12 states, from Alabama to Illinois to Wisconsin for the MTA Police Department? 🐕‍🦺 👮‍♀️

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Hidden in plain sight: a little-known US Dept of Energy tool shows data center electricity demands across the US. Here’s the stats for NY’s top 5 counties — crucial for understanding the state’s data center boom.
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The Sabres will stay put at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center through 2031, while waiting for NY taxpayers to forget they recently gave the Pegulas — who also own the Buffalo Bills — $1 billion for a new NFL stadium.

Check out Subsidy Sheet: buff.ly/BMfsqFr

Watchdog Report: States that Voted for Trump Get Billions from MTA Spending - Reinvent Albany New York’s MTA Paid Companies in Other States $19B Over 14 Years, Supporting up to 247,000 Jobs in Blue, Red, and Purple States Alike   Introduction: Analysis of MTA Spending on Vendors 2011-2024 The ...

ICYMI: Our new report shows that Investing in the MTA is Investing in America

Federal cuts to New York's transit system, which carries 40% of national ridership, not only hurts NY, but all the companies that supply the MTA from a total of 47 states.

reinventalbany.org/2025/10/watc...

Watchdog Report: States that Voted for Trump Get Billions from MTA Spending - Reinvent Albany New York’s MTA Paid Companies in Other States $19B Over 14 Years, Supporting up to 247,000 Jobs in Blue, Red, and Purple States Alike   Introduction: Analysis of MTA Spending on Vendors 2011-2024 The ...

Fixed on the web. Was just the image that was incorrect, not the analysis. reinventalbany.org/2025/10/watc...

Trump admin attempts to cut transit funding for NY hurt biz in ”red” states as well

You see this particularly in the crime discussion nationally, but folks outside of New York City (and often times in New York City) do not grasp the scale and scope of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

NEW Report: States that voted for Trump got billions from MTA Spending

Companies in red states by U.S. Senate seats received more than $3.5 billion in MTA payments over 14 years. States that voted for Trump in 2024 received nearly $7 billion from the MTA over this period.

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ICYMI: our Legislative Director, Tom Speaker, penned an important op-ed calling on the City Council to use the time it has left this session to overhaul the city's Freedom of Information Law.

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Good gov't groups: Lobbyists must be mandated to report campaign contributions The state ethics commission held its third annual public hearing Thursday.

"It would be a good election year strategy for [Hochul], from our perspective, to promote some reform and show that she is willing to change the culture and the laws in Albany to make it a more ethical place," our @rachaelfauss.bsky.social
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Stronger Ethics Commission and Laws, Stronger Public Trust. Our testimony for COELIG's annual hearing today lays out Reinvent Albany's top 5 proposals for COELIG to support, along with our comments on dozens of their other proposals (plus a nifty chart!). Read it here:

Speaker Adams’ 11th hour rules: City Council rules should not be changed in waning days The City Council Rules Committee is set to have a hearing this morning on what they are calling “the most comprehensive revision of the Rules of the Council since 2014.” With only 100 d…

"The speaker should not sully further the past four years by jamming through some changes...What this Council and this speaker can, and should, do is pass a worthy transparency improvement to how the city handles Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for public records."

Subsidy Sheet: ESD Hints at Expanded Broadway Subsidies With Deadline Extension - Reinvent Albany Tax credit to reimburse theaters for production costs was set to run out, state now seeks additional applicants amid heavy lobbyist pressure

The Broadway tax credit was meant as COVID relief. Now it’s a $3M-per-show subsidy draining state funds—even while Broadway thrives. ESD's deadline extension hints more giveaways may come.

Check out Subsidy Sheet: buff.ly/hATzTsG