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Council Member Amanda Farías opens hearing on NYC Economic Development Corporation's budget
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4 min
Council Member Amanda Farías opens the hearing on the fiscal year 2026 preliminary budget for the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC). She outlines the purpose of the hearing, key topics to be discussed, and expresses the committee's interest in understanding EDC's budget in relation to job creation and economic development strategies.
- The hearing will examine EDC's capital projects, investment programs, and their integration with the city's economic development goals.
- Farías highlights the need to discuss EDC's revenue contributions to the general fund and recent fluctuations in net revenue.
- She emphasizes the importance of transparency and accountability in the budget process and looks forward to engagement with the administration.
Amanda Farías
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Good morning and welcome to today's hearing on the fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary budget for the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
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My name is Amanda Farias and I'm honored to be the chair of the committee's committee on economic development.
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We're also joined today by esteemed colleague council member Alexa Aviles.
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Today, we will be hearing from NYC EDC on the fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary budget, including the preliminary capital commitment plan and updates on their fiscal twenty twenty projects.
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In addition to the NYC EDC capital projects, NYC EDC also manages capital projects for various other agencies.
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The agency also oversees much of the discretionary economic development investment projects which involve advisory and financial assistance from EDC.
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Each one of these programs should support and be well integrated with one another to properly execute the city's economic development and vital infrastructure goals.
0:01:03
Today, we plan to examine to what extent this is occurring, where improvements can be made, and the overall feasibility of NYCEDCs capital and investment program.
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NYCEDCs is the city's primary agent for economic development and their principal mandate is to encourage investment and to attract, retain, and create jobs in New York City.
0:01:23
As such, this committee is interested in having a robust conversation about how NYCE EDC's budget is laid out in this year's preliminary plan connects to the larger job creation and economic development strategies of the city.
0:01:37
One of the ways NYC EDC supports the growth of the city's economy and job market is through what it calls investment projects.
0:01:45
These represent discretionary financial assistance largely from in the form of tax breaks and tax exempt bond financing.
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In fiscal twenty twenty four, there were 440 total active investment projects at a total cost of 2,293,000,000.
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Many of these projects represent investments made years or even decades ago under prior administrations.
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However, 20 of these projects were new in fiscal twenty twenty four and represent a commitment of multiyear tax reductions worth roughly 31,700,000.0.
0:02:17
I would like NYCE EDC to update us on how the economic impact of these investment projects are calculated and to what degree the agency coordinates with other arms of the city, including OMB to ensure that these impacts are reflected in our budget process.
0:02:32
The fiscal twenty twenty six preliminary capital commitment plan, which covers fiscal twenty twenty five to '20 '20 '9, includes 3,900,000,000.0 for NYCE EDC.
0:02:43
NYCE EDC's ten year capital plan includes 5,900,000,000 in fiscal twenty twenty six to twenty thirty five.
0:02:51
Today, I would like EDC to provide this committee with information regarding both revenue contributed by NYC EDC to the general fund and net revenue generated post contributions to the general fund.
0:03:04
From fiscal twenty nineteen to fiscal twenty twenty one, NYC EDC had negative net revenue with a with a positive 96,000,000 in fiscal twenty two and then revenue dropping by nearly two thirds to 32,500,000.0 and increasing slightly to 37,600,000.0 in fiscal twenty twenty The committee would like to know what the reason for EDC struggling to come close to the peak of fiscal twenty twenty two's numbers are and what they can do to achieve greater increases.
0:03:33
It is essential that the budget that we adopt is transparent, accountable, and reflective of the priorities and interests of the council and the people we represent.
0:03:41
This hearing is a vital part of this process and I expect that NYCDC will be responsive to the questions and concerns of council members.
0:03:48
I look forward to an active engagement with the administration over the next few months to ensure the upcoming fiscal twenty twenty six adopted budget meets the goals the council has set out.
0:03:57
I would like to thank Andrew Kimball and Jennifer Montalvo for coming here today and testifying.
0:04:02
I would like to thank NYCDC staff who have been consistently responsive to our many requests.
0:04:07
We would not be able to analyze the city's budget at such a detailed level without your cooperation, so I thank you.
0:04:13
I would also like to thank both my staff and the staff of finance and legislative divisions for helping in preparing for this hearing.
0:04:20
Thank you.
0:04:21
I'll now turn it over to committee counsel.