NYS Taxable Sales and Purchases by Geography and Industry Data

NYS Tax Department has posted the Taxable Sales and Purchases by Geography and Industry Data to Open Data through February 2016.


To view the data click HERE.

New York Report Chronicles ACA Implementation Progress

With the overall national experience in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being uneven, often reflecting stark political divisions within states, the implementation of the ACA in New York State has been relatively smooth, according to the just released findings of researcher Sarah F. Liebschutz, a distinguished service professor emerita of the State University of New York (SUNY) and former chair of the political science department at SUNY Brockport.

Liebschutz's study is the latest in a series of more than 30 reports released through the efforts of the 40-state, 70-researcher ACA Implementation Network of the Rockefeller Institute of SUNY, the Brookings Institution and the Fels Institute of Government of the University of Pennsylvania.

According to the study, New York's success is attributable to the fact that "New York's leaders (executive and legislative) affirmed state options early and subsequently acted to improve access, quality, and cost savings. They were influenced by past experience and enhanced ACA implementation through partnerships with statewide, nonprofit organizations," the study concluded.

Liebschutz also discussed the significance of the addition of New York's Basic Health Plan (BHP) during the third open enrollment period. New York is now the nation's leading and largest BHP, an example of how New York's leaders used federal funds to take advantage of recent health system change opportunities.

Through the expansion of Medicaid eligibility and the establishment of the New York Health Benefit Exchange, known as the NY State of Health, the enrollment of insured New Yorkers increased by approximately 961,000 in the program's first year to more than 2.8 million in year three.

Thomas Gais, director of the Rockefeller Institute, commented on the report and the forum: "What I find impressive about New York's implementation of the ACA is its integration of several different programs ---- including Medicaid, Child Health Plus, the Qualified Health Plans, and the Essential Plan ---- into a wide-ranging yet accessible whole for New York residents seeking health care. The federal government may operate these as separate 'silos.' But New York has connected them for the sake of its people. That's federalism at its best."

Specifics of the New York implementation were discussed in a public event held at the Rockefeller Institute on June 6th.

To read the report, go to www.rockinst.org/ACA/states/New_York/2016-06-New_York_Individual_Report.pdf.

To view the video of the event, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPxbYpjb94Q.

Demographic and Economic Profiles of New York’s Electorate

 In advance of the New York primary on April 19, the U.S. Census Bureau presents a variety of statistics that give an overall profile of the state’s voting-age population and industries. Statistics include:

·        Voting-age population and estimate of eligible voters (i.e., citizens age 18 and older).

·        Breakdown of voting-age population by race and Hispanic origin (Hispanic origin and race alone) (race alone or in combination).

·        Selected economic characteristics, including median household income and poverty.

·        Selected social characteristics, including educational attainment.

·        County Business Patterns (providing information on employment by specific industries).

·        Statistics on voting and registration.

Population is dropping faster in upstate New York counties

From Empire Center:

Upstate New York’s population began to decline at a faster rate between mid-2014 and 2015, according to updated Census Bureau estimates.

As of last July 1, the 50 counties north of the mid-Hudson Valley had a combined population of 6,307,573—down 17,623 from the Census Bureau estimate of a year earlier. The drop in 2014-15 alone exceeded the population decrease in the previous four years, bringing the total population decline since the 2010 census to 31,740 people, or 0.5 percent. By contrast, upstate New York’s population increased by 52,074, or 0.8 percent, between 2000 and 2010.

2013 NYS HIV/AIDS County Surveillance Report

The County HIV/AIDS Surveillance Reports for 2013, including and excluding State Prison Inmates, are now available on the DOH public web site..

Please note that if you use Internet Explorer to open the documents, you need to right click on the document to access the navigation buttons, which will allow you to open the bookmarks to navigate the documents.

New York: Statewide Foreclosure Activity Still Well Above Prerecession levels

New York state continues to have high levels of foreclosure activity with new foreclosure filings remaining significantly higher than prerecession levels, according to a report released this week by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“The foreclosure crisis is far from resolved, and there are still too many people losing their homes,” DiNapoli said. “In many places the situation has continued to get worse. Foreclosed properties displace families and weigh heavily on local communities, reducing property values and eroding tax bases. We must continue efforts to help homeowners and stem the spread of foreclosure-induced blight.”

Foreclosure filings rose rapidly after the housing bubble burst and the recession of 2008-2009 took hold. Between 2006 and 2009, the number of new foreclosure cases filed jumped from 26,706 to 47,664, an increase of 78 percent. In 2011 and 2012, new filings declined as new court rules were issued requiring lenders to affirm their claim to the property.

Since reaching a low of 16,655 in 2011, new filings climbed to 46,696 by 2013 before falling to 43,868 in 2014, still well above prerecession levels.

Map of Obamacare enrollment by New York State county

POLITICO New York created an interactive map showing how every county in New York performed and what percentage of a county's total population has signed up for health insurance through the state exchange created by the Affordable Care Act.

The Affordable Care Act became a more popular option for Western New Yorkers and those in the Southern Tier during the second year of open enrollment. More than 15,000 Erie County residents signed up for a private health insurance plan, about 2,000 more than during the first year of open enrollment, according to state data. That's a 16-percent increase compared with the state average of 12 percent.

The reasons why there was greater growth in certain parts of the state are not entirely clear.

More from Capital New York.

Assembly Expenses Topped $1M in Latest Period

The Assembly paid $1.1 million to 130 members for costs related to "legislative duties" performed in Albany between April and September 2014, according to data posted today on SeeThroughNY, the Empire Center's transparency website. The data was released more than eight months after the end of the reporting period, an unusually long delay.

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj of the Bronx collected the most in Albany legislative duty reimbursements, receiving $17,940 in the six-month period. Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper of Nassau County was reimbursed $14,135, the second most. The reimbursements include travel to and from Albany as well as "per diem" payments for food and lodging.

Economic Development Data from Data (dot) NY (dot) gov

In 2013, Governor Cuomo launched Open New York, data.ny.gov, a state data transparency website that provides user-friendly, one-stop access to data from New York State agencies, localities, and the federal government.

Here are just a few items available through the Economic development section:

1. Active Corporations: Beginning 1800

2. Liquor Authority Quarterly List of Active Licenses Economic Development licenses3

3. Retail Food Stores which are licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Markets.

4. Current Employment Statistics: Beginning 1990, reflecting jobs by "place of work."

5. Jobs By Industry: Donut Chart, based upon an economic profile created for the 10 Empire State Development (ESD) economic development regions.

6. Farmers Markets in New York State Map. In the past decade the number of farmers markets in New York State has grown at a rapid rate. The dataset published on the Department website contains information detailing the time and location of community farmers markets as well as the name and phone number of the market manager.

7. Broadband Availability By Municipality

New York State Board of Elections Unofficial Election Night Results

The unofficial election night results displayed on this web site are based on the unofficial results reported to us by each County Board of Elections and as such, are posted on the web as a convenience to the public. New York State Election Law requires a complete recanvass of all votes cast on Election Day and the canvass of all valid absentee, special, and affidavit (provisional) ballots before any election results can be certified. Once all ballot counting tasks have been completed (usually within 15 days for a primary and within 25 days for a general election), each County Board certifies their respective election results pursuant to and in accordance with the applicable sections of New York State Election Law (see NYS Election Law, Sections 3-222, 9-200, 9-208). Those certifications are then sent to the State Board for aggregation, certification and publication/posting.

If you are looking for local election results, please contact the county board of elections. Write-in results are shown in the aggregate. Individual names for write-ins are only published in the official results and only by the State Board if a write-in candidate is a winner.

Rising Costs Hitting Homeowners & Renters Across New York State

Housing costs in New York rose sharply relative to income from 2000 to 2012, with more than half of renters and more than a third of homeowners paying at least 30 percent of their 2012 income for a place to live, according to a report released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.


“Regardless of where they live, more New Yorkers are feeling pinched by rising housing costs,”DiNapoli said. “When half your income goes to pay for a place to live, you are going to be stretched thin on other every day purchases. This unfortunate trend has troubling implications for our economic growth and for New Yorkers’ quality of life.”

Program on Applied Demographics' subcounty profiles for NYS

In addition to the County profiles previously announced, Cornell's Program on Applied Demographics has recently produced booklets with data on towns, cities and villages in NYS. They contain data from the Decennial census, the population estimates program and the ACS. The data is organized by county.

Profiles for the Indian reservations within New York are in a separate booklet together with data on the American Indian population in New York.

All profiles can be downloaded here.

Tax Department Launches Statewide STAR Registration

The New York State Tax Department unveiled an easy, fast and secure online STAR Registration platform for homeowners currently receiving the Basic STAR property tax exemption. The system will facilitate Governor Cuomo's 2013-14 Budget initiative to save New York taxpayers millions by eliminating inappropriate STAR property tax exemptions.

Homeowners will not have to register in order to receive their 2013 STAR exemptions.
Homeowners will not have to re-register every year. Based on the information provided in the registration process, the Tax Department will monitor homeowners' eligibility in future years.

You can register for the STAR exemption online. You'll need to:
provide a STAR code (we're mailing codes to all Basic STAR recipients; or you can use the STAR code lookup)
provide the names and social security numbers for all owners of the property and spouses
confirm that the property is the primary residence of one of its owners (married couples with multiple residences may only claim one STAR exemption)
confirm that the combined income of the owners and their spouses who reside at the property does not exceed $500,000
confirm that no resident owner received a residency-based tax benefit from another state

You can also register by calling (518) 457-2036

Registration started on August 19, 2013 and will continue through December 31, 2013.

Senior citizens

Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not affected by the new registration requirement. Seniors must, however, continue to:

apply annually, or
participate in the Income Verification Program


More information HERE.

Addendum: as of 8/21/2013, residences in the following localities were not currently available via the lookup, and may have to wait for the letter, or come back.
Dutchess County
City of Geneva
Nassau County
Putnam County
Rockland County
Sullivan County
Suffolk County
Westchester County

Population of New York State by County, 1790 to 1990

From Empire State Development.

Population counts from the federal Decennial Census of Population. The first Census was taken in 1790 and has been taken every 10 years since that time. Population figures include total resident population as of the given date.

NOTES ON BOUNDARY CHANGES:
Bronx County
- Organized from part of New York in 1914.
Chemung County
- Part taken to form part of Schuyler in 1854.
Essex County
- Part annexed to Hamilton and part of Hamilton annexed in 1915.
Hamilton County
- Part annexed to Essex and part of Essex annexed in 1915.
Kings County
- Part of Queens annexed in 1915.
Nassau County
- Organized from part of Queens in 1899.
New York County
- Parts of Westchester annexed in 1873 and 1895; part taken to form Bronx in 1914.
Queens County
- Part taken to form Nassau in 1899; part annexed to Kings in 1915.
Schuyler County
- Organized from parts of Chemung, Steuben, and Tompkins in 1854.
Steuben County
- Part taken to form part of Schuyler in 1854.
Tompkins County
- Part taken to form part of Schuyler in 1854.
Westchester County
- Parts annexed to New York in 1873 and 1895

State Education Department Releases Grades 3-8 Assessment Results

Message from Commissioner King

Dear Colleague:

This week, we are releasing the results of the April 2013 grades 3-8 math and English Language Arts (ELA) assessments. This year's state assessments are the first for New York students to measure the Common Core State Standards that were adopted by the State Board of Regents in 2010. As expected, the percentage of students deemed proficient will be significantly lower than in 2011-12. This change in scores -- which will effectively create a new baseline measurement of student learning -- is largely the result of the shift in the assessments to measure the Common Core State Standards, which more accurately reflect students' progress toward college and career readiness.

There are those who will use the change in students' proficiency rates to attack teachers and principals. That's just plain wrong. I've said over and over again: the change in proficiency rates does not mean teachers are teaching less or that students are learning less than last year. That's why we've made sure the scores will not negatively impact teacher, principal or school accountability. No new districts will be identified as Focus Districts and no new schools will be identified as Priority schools based on 2012-13 assessment results. The student growth scores used in teacher and principal evaluation will result in similar proportions of educators earning each rating category (Highly Effective, etc.) for student growth in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12, despite the change in students who score at proficiency. This is in large part because the State's student growth model takes into consideration changes in student performance compared to "similar" students (i.e. students with similar characteristics and academic histories). Therefore, all educators will have a chance to do well, regardless of the changing rigor of the test.

Last week, I sent a memo to school district superintendents across the state, reminding them that this is the first year of the new assessments and recommending judicious and thoughtful use of each measure of the State's multiple measures evaluation system.

The new assessments are a much better, more accurate tool for educators, students, and parents as they work together to prepare students for 21st century colleges and careers. The results are consistent with other indicators of the college and career readiness of New York State students, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), NYS student performance on the SAT and PSAT, and college and career ready scores on New York State's high school Regents exams.

Chancellor Tisch has said these scores represent a new baseline and a new beginning. We have just finished the first year of a dramatic shift in teaching and learning. The Chancellor and the Board of Regents understand that teachers, principals, superintendents and school boards have worked extraordinarily hard to implement the Common Core. They also understand that with the right tools, the right training, and continuous feedback and support, our teachers - the best teaching force in the country - will make sure all our students are prepared for college and career success in the 21st century.

I understand these scores are sobering for teachers and principals. It's frustrating to see our children struggle. But we can't allow ourselves to be paralyzed by frustration; we must be energized by this opportunity. The results we've announced today are not a critique of past efforts; they're a new starting point on a roadmap to future success. Our students face very real challenges. But it's better to have our students challenged now - with caring teachers there to help -- than frustrated later when they start college or try to find a job and discover they are unprepared.

Over the last year, I've traveled all across the state, visiting hundreds of classrooms, meeting hundreds of teachers, watching first-hand as they implemented Common Core. I know how hard you work to help your students succeed.. We want to support that work. That's why we've been building strong supports and resources on www.EngageNY.org. You might find some of them particularly useful, including:

A Parent Toolkit to help you communicate with parents about the Common Core and why NYS has chosen to move in this direction;
The TriState rubric for evaluating curriculum materials against the Common Core;
A video series on the instructional Shifts demanded by the Common Core;
Videos of Common Core instruction from across New York State;
A Video of a speech I recently made on the standards and their importance;
Curriculum modules and resources to support your own professional development around their use;
Assessment design materials;
Resources to better understand the 3-8 assessments and results, including annotated test items to be posted later this week; and
A set of expectations and metrics for the work of teachers, principals, superintendents, Network Teams, and District Superintendents.

We've also included a number of resources for parents to help them understand the importance of the Common Core and to help them communicate that importance to their children. Please make sure you visit the EngageNY site often. New resources and videos are added almost daily.

We all share the same goal: to make sure all students in New York have the skills and knowledge to be successful in college and careers. With the Common Core, we're building a ladder toward that goal. The assessment scores are a measure of where our students are on that ladder and give us all a clearer, more accurate picture of the climb ahead.

Dr. John B. King, Jr.
Commissioner

Follow me on Twitter @JohnKingNYSED

NYS Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Fiscal Stress Scores for Local Communities

Two dozen communities in New York have been designated as fiscally stressed under State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s new Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. The list includes eight counties, three cities and 13 towns.

The Fiscal Stress Monitoring System and resulting fiscal stress designations rely on data (as of 5/31/2013) from annual financial reports submitted by local governments to the Office of the State Comptroller. This list (sorted in order of fiscal stress score) includes only municipalities with fiscal years ending on 12/31/2012. All towns and counties, 44 cities and 10 villages have a 12/31 fiscal year end.

Open Book New York

Where do your tax dollars go?

New Yorkers should know where their tax dollars are going. Open Book New York is part of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s effort to promote more openness in government and give taxpayers better access to the financial workings of government.

Track how the State is spending federal stimulus money. Data last updated March 30, 2012.

Find out what State agencies spend on salaries, travel and more. Data last updated March 30, 2012.

Look at active State contracts and see who is doing business with the State. Data is updated daily.

See how your county, city, town, village, fire or school district gets and spends your money. Data is updated annually.

Asian-American population in New York State growing fastest outside of NYC

The newly released report, Asian Americans of the Empire State: Growing Diversity and Common Needs, from the Asian American Federation finds that the Asian population in New York State grew fastest outside of New York City. The number of Asian residents in the suburban counties surrounding New York City grew by 47 percent and those in counties outside of the New York City metro area grew by 56 percent. With the population growth upstate came increased diversity. Burmese Americans went from being too small to be reported to the sixth largest Asian group in upstate counties in 2010.

Unemployment rates in the Asian community were mostly at or below the general population, indicating Asians were active participants in our economy. Additionally, without the growth in the Asian population, New York's total population would have declined in the last decade.

NYS Labor Department new lead agency for NYSDC

In the recent slew of budget bills enacted was the authorization to officially transfer the Lead Agency of the New York State Data Center to the NYS Department of Labor. This has been passed by the Senate and by the Assembly. It is believed that as of April 1, Labor will officially be the new Lead Agency, succeeding the NYS Department of Economic Development. This is universally seen as a good outcome by the current state data affiliates.

The Department of Labor has had vast experience and active participation in the NYSDC program from the very beginning, over 30 years ago.

Here's the wording in State Senate bill S02607/State Assembly bill A03007, signed by Governor Cuomo on March 29:

PART N

Section 1. Section 21 of the labor law is amended by adding a new subdivision 14 to read as follows:
14. SHALL DO ALL THINGS NECESSARY FOR THE OPERATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE DATA CENTER ESTABLISHED IN THE DEPARTMENT IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF THE CENSUS; TO COOPERATE WITH OTHER STATE AGENCIES, UNIVERSITIES, REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND OTHER ENTITIES IN THE DISSEMINATION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC INFORMATION AND DATA THROUGH THE NEW YORK STATE DATA CENTER PROGRAM; IN RELATION TO SUCH INFORMATION AND DATA, TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO OTHER STATE AGENCIES, UNIVERSITIES, REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND OTHER ENTITIES; AND TO PREPARE ESTIMATES AND THE OFFICIAL PROJECTIONS OF POPULATION, HOUSEHOLDS AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STATE FOR USE BY ALL STATE AGENCIES. ALL EMPLOYEES TRANSFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENT SHALL BE TRANSFERRED WITHOUT FURTHER EXAMINATION OR QUALIFICATION TO THE SAME OR SIMILAR TITLES AND SHALL REMAIN IN THE SAME COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND SHALL RETAIN THEIR RESPECTIVE CIVIL SERVICE CLASSIFICATIONS, STATUS AND RIGHTS PURSUANT TO THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.

Section 2. Subdivision 17 of section 100 of the economic development law is REPEALED.

Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

New York State Sporting License Sales Summary

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation tracks statistics of the various hunting and fishing licenses offered in New York State. One could go to the main DEC page and search for license sales summary; the information will be the link to the first result.

At the very bottom of the page is a link to Sales by County. When you download a year's report by county - the data goes back to the 2002-2003 season - one will see plus signs (+) in the far left column that, when clicked on, will provide additional info for that particular county.