The mayor’s office measured administrative services by how many people call 311, how long it takes city agencies to make decisions, and how long it takes to collect fines, process complaints, issue licenses, and perform other administrative duties. Out of 17 factors, 12 have improved since fiscal year 2010. Only one factor has declined since fiscal year 2003—New Yorkers are waiting longer to see a cashier at Department of Finance payment centers.
In the public health arena, 13 out of 18 factors have improved since 2010, and 15 have improved since 2003. There are fewer patients with asthma, fewer people diagnosed with AIDS, and fewer deaths from unintentional drug overdoses.
The number of adults who smoke also continues to decline—the most lauded success as of late. On his Friday morning radio show, the mayor chalked it up to the smoking ban in parks and on beaches enacted in May.
The report also shows the mayor’s long-term success in education; out of 26 factors, 25 show improvement since 2003. It is too soon to tell how the schools will fare in 2011 compared to 2010. Most factors are marked as “N/A” for fiscal year 2011, as the data is not yet available.
What is known at this point is that class sizes are larger than they were last year from kindergarten through eighth grade, with approximately one additional student per class.
Among the examined factors related to public safety, about 50 percent show a decline in quality. The same is true for factors related to human services. Both of these categories have shown the greatest declines since 2010.
The number of murders rose from 494 in 2010 to 526 in 2011; the number of rapes rose from 860 to 1,138; and the number of felonious assaults rose from 16,906 to 17,743. Grand larceny and burglary rates have dropped, as did traffic accidents and felonies and safety incidents in schools. Crime rates overall are still significantly lower than they were in 2003.
As for human services, fewer children are receiving preventative services; fewer seniors are receiving lunches and home care; and more people are living in shelters. On the other hand, fewer children are in foster care; fewer people are estimated to be living without shelter on the streets; and more people are getting food stamps instead of cash assistance.
Rise from Recession
While many of the economic development indicators remain below the levels noted before the recession hit in 2008, the mayor’s office reports a 64-percent improvement overall since fiscal year 2010.
According to the report, the unemployment rate is down from 10.1 percent to 8.9 percent, although the Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) contested this claim last month. The FPI estimates a 9.6 percent unemployment rate, if the unemployed who have given up searching for jobs are to be included in the calculations.
Tourism has continued to rise right through the recession, reports the mayor’s office. More construction jobs have become available, and more building permits have been issued.
Quality of Life Highlights
The mayor’s office also measured quality of life, an apparently difficult thing to quantify.
Response to noise complaints is quicker, but as one Crown Heights resident pointed out, “This area isn’t as lively anymore—we used to have music playing, families out barbecuing.”
More potholes are being filled, but satisfaction with the street-pavement quality has dropped, and it takes twice as long to fill a pothole than it did last year.
The number of restaurants inspected has risen, but so has the number of restaurants failing their first inspection.
