Dear New Yorkers,
We’re almost through the “dog days of summer,” but we’ve stayed busy all summer long at the Comptroller’s Office – keeping a sharp eye on the City’s budget and the broader economy, and working hard to protect the retirement security of hundreds of thousands of New York City workers and retirees: our teachers, cops, firefighters, sanitation workers, public hospital nurses, accountants, school crossing guards, and so many more.
That’s why, along with the trustees of the City’s five retirement systems, I was proud to announce last week strong 10.3% pension returns for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. These returns exceeded our targets for the third consecutive fiscal year, translating to $2.2 billion in savings for the City that we’ll be able to invest in schools, housing, and other critical social services that benefit New Yorkers.
These strong returns are a testament to our office’s talented Bureau of Asset Management team. By taking a disciplined, long-term approach, we’ve been able to assess and mitigate portfolio risk. As a result, the funds ended FY25 with a value of $295 billion in assets – now the third largest public pension fund in the U.S.
Despite the attacks by Donald Trump and red-state treasurers on “ESG” – taking environmental, social, and governance risks seriously – we aren’t backing down from what we just consider responsible investing. We’ve achieved those good numbers while divesting fossil fuels (whose stocks were down this year), insisting on good workplace management practices, and making economically-targeted investments in the NYC region – like buying the mortgages on 35,000 units of rent-stabilized housing that were put at risk when Signature Bank failed, which has worked to preserve those units and delivered great returns for our retirees.
For our Spotlight this month, we take a look at Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its implications on New York City’s economy and workforce. I know you’ve been hearing about AI, a lot lately – maybe you’re even wondering if the Comptroller’s economic monthly newsletters and spotlights are written by AI (answer: not yet). We dig into data from Anthropic on which kinds of jobs/tasks are utilizing AI – and therefore may be more vulnerable to replacement – and compare that to areas where job postings have been shrinking or growing.
Finally, this week is the annual meeting of the Financial Control Board, which was established 50 years ago this year in the wake of the city’s fiscal crisis. The frameworks adopted in the aftermath of that crisis – including balanced budgets and multi-year planning – are the foundation that have allowed the City to navigate economic downturns, national policy shifts, and global recessions with stability and integrity.
Unfortunately, some of the critical lessons learned 50 years ago are not reflected in the Adams Administration’s FY 2026 Adopted Budget. We offer warnings, along with recommendations for how we can strengthen the practices of sound, responsible budgeting, in our report to the FCB.
That’s what we mean by watching the numbers.
