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New York Government

From the Blog

August 11, 2026
Fact Sheet
Bus Companies and Other Commercial Vehicles Delay OATH Hearings for Idling Violations to Postpone Paying Fines

Polluting Buses Gaming NYC OATH Hearing Process to Avoid Millions in Idling FinesOne Scofflaw Company Ducked at Least $900k in Idling Violations   Our analysis was covered by David Meyer at Streetsblog. IntroductionThis analysis is part of Reinvent Albany’s new Encouraging Government Innovation project. We are initially getting behind three innovative programs and policies across […]

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August 11, 2026
Press ReleaseReport
Report Finds NY Has Many Watchdogs, But Deprives Them of Independence and Authority Needed to Combat Corruption

New Report: NY Watchdog Agencies Deprived of Independence, Resources, Authority to Stem Waste, Misconduct, and CorruptionNY’s Complex Menagerie of State and Local Government Entities Is Monitored by Fragmented, Politically Vulnerable Collection of Oversight Agencies Undermined by Structural Obstacles   As covered by Dan Clark at Times Union, a new report released today by Reinvent Albany […]

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August 10, 2026
Report
NYS Taxpayers Paid Hollywood Producers $1.2 Billion in 2025

New York State Taxpayers Paid Hollywood Film/TV Producers $1.2 Billion in Subsidy Payments in 2025 ESDC Report Shows Q4 Reimbursable Tax Credits of $308 million   According to data published by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), New York State taxpayers paid Hollywood producers a record $1.2 billion in 2025. In the fourth quarter alone, […]

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August 6, 2026
Fact SheetReport
Mayoral Election Systems in the 50 Biggest U.S. Cities

Reinvent Albany looked at how the 50 biggest cities in the United States select their mayors. As expected, we saw that municipal elections in the United States are very different than those for federal or state offices. Americans do not vote for mayor in the same way they do for governor or president. However, we […]

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