Statement from Good Jobs New York   

Regarding City Council Intro 373-A – Subsidy Disclosure Law

May 11, 2005

Contact: Bettina Damiani, 212.721.7996 cell, 347.432.0315

               Stephanie Greenwood, 212.721.4865, cell 973.951.9243

Good Jobs New York applauds the efforts of City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, the Economic Development Committee Chair James Sanders, Jr. and the entire New York City Council to bring greater transparency to the city’s allocation of corporate subsidies.  

With the passing of Intro 373-A, New Yorkers will have access to better information on job retention and creation at subsidized firms and, for the first time, information on job quality and on the number of subsidized jobs going to New York City residents. The new law would require more accurate, comprehensive reporting on the costs and benefits of many of the city’s discretionary development programs. This will allow the Council, advocates, and taxpayers to see whether these programs are providing a good return on New York City’s investment of tax dollars.

The sunshine provided by Intro 373-A is not only a good idea by itself – it is a tool that the public and elected officials must have in order to make development policy address the needs of ordinary New Yorkers for access to decent jobs and job training and to stable, diverse and vibrant neighborhoods.

Today’s action by the City Council represents the culmination of several years of effort on the part of Council Members, good government groups and independent analysts. The city’s original subsidy transparency law, Local Law 69, passed in 1993, was an important first step, but it had many shortcomings. Intro 373-A greatly improves on the existing law.