The Rockefeller Institute’s Disability Services Economic Impact Analysis: What it Measures and What it Doesn’t

The Rockefeller Institute of SUNY released a report on March 2nd, “The Economic Impact of Disability Services Providers in New York and NYSID: New Developments.” The report was funded by two disability services-related organizations: the New York Alliance for Innovation and Inclusion and New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID). The report claims that “Providers have an economic impact of $15.6billion and employ over 98,000 people while supporting almost 200,000 jobs. In addition to that impact, NYSID member agencies and corporate partners generated an economic impact of $470 million, employing 4,794 workers with disabilities. Together, the economic impact is over $16 billion.” Does the report accurately reflect the program’s impact?

The Proposed Albany Soccer Stadium – The Problem of Capital Financing

In two earlier posts, I examined the proposed downtown Albany soccer stadium. In the first, I discussed its possible role in Albany’s redevelopment and the likely difficulties it would face in generating operating profits. In the second, I briefly discussed the impact of the stadium’s capital costs on profitability. In this post, I examine possible financing structures for the proposed stadium and their impact on project viability.

The Proposed Albany Soccer Stadium – Why Scale and Financing Matter

In an earlier piece, The Proposed Downtown Albany Soccer Stadium: Potential Risks and Benefits, I considered the financial viability of the proposed facility. Although a hypothetical model showed a likely operational deficit, under more optimistic assumptions, the proposal might be viable. But the analysis did not account for the reality that the stadium’s capital costs […]

The Proposed Downtown Albany Soccer Stadium: Potential Risks and Benefits

Developers have proposed building a soccer stadium as part of a redevelopment of an underutilized section of Albany’s downtown, Liberty Park, near the MVP arena, often called “the parking lot district.” The proposal would include a 7,500-seat stadium, along with commercial development and up to 1,000 new housing units. Although details of the project proposal have not been made available to the public, one report indicates that the project sponsors are seeking $150 million in public support from the state, city, and county towards the $600 million project.

In this post, I take a closer look at the proposal, with its potential impacts, benefits, and risks. In it, I examine the financial viability of the proposal.

Students Outside New York City Underperform on State Tests

The poor academic performance of students in city schools has been a long-standing concern. When students struggle to acquire essential skills, it can significantly hinder their ability to compete successfully in the job market as adults. Large city schools tend to have high concentrations of economically disadvantaged students. In fact, over three-quarters of students in […]

The Heritage Foundation’s Misleading Fracking Claims

The Heritage Foundation’s recent analysis, “Hydraulic Fracturing and Economic Outcomes: A Study of Marcellus Shale Counties in Pennsylvania and New York”, claims that: The basis of Heritage’s claims is a correct finding – economic output (gross domestic product) per capita in Pennsylvania counties where fracking is permitted has outstripped that in Southern Tier New York […]

Student Performance in Upstate Cities in 2022-2023: Combined Data

The academic performance of disadvantaged students has long been of concern. In district-operated schools outside New York City, only 31% of disadvantaged students passed the state’s grades 3-8 student evaluations in mathematics and English language arts in 2022-2023. Sixty-one percent of students who were not disadvantaged passed. In schools with high percentages of disadvantaged students, […]

The Poor Performance of Disadvantaged Students on New York’s English Language Exam at District-Operated and Charter Schools in Upstate Cities

The poor performance of economically disadvantaged students, particularly those in schools with high percentages of needy students, has long been a concern. In my first post, I examined the performance of disadvantaged students on the state’s grades three through eight mathematics exam at district-operated and charter schools in large upstate New York cities. In these […]