Comptroller Stringer: City Made Progress In Starting Capital Projects In FY 2015

(New York, NY) – One year after a first-of-its-kind analysis by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, the majority of City agencies have improved their rate of capital commitments, which is defined as when a contract is registered and work is allowed to begin on a project. In FY 2015, the City committed to $9.3 billion in capital projects, enabling new construction and capital improvements to proceed on the City’s bridges, roads, parks, schools, and other vital infrastructure.

“City agencies were more effective at getting capital contracts registered and shovels in the ground last year, which means new school spaces, improved parks, and repaved streets,” Comptroller Stringer said. “But even as more capital projects are being started, there’s still much more work to be done. City agencies should seek to begin all the projects they’ve planned so much-needed construction and repairs can proceed without delay.”

From FY 2014 to FY 2015, more than two-thirds of the City’s 25 agencies with capital budgets improved their rates of capital commitments. These improvements resulted from different factors: some agencies lowered their planned commitments; others increased their actual commitments; and some did both.

Some examples of scheduled projects that were initiated in FY 2015 include:

Manhattan Bridge Reconstruction ($5.8 million), the new 40th Precinct Station House in the Bronx ($3.76 million), the NYU Hospitals Center ($1.74 million), the Mount Sinai Adolescent Center ($204,000) the Riverdale Senior Center ($62,000), and the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in Manhattan ($37,000).

The Comptroller’s office analyzed the rate of capital commitments actually achieved by City agencies in FY 2015. Eight agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks and Recreation, with actual capital commitments exceeding $100 million improved their rate of commitments in FY 2015 as compared to the previous year:

Seven agencies experienced actual declines in their rate of capital commitments in FY 2015 as compared to the previous year:

A downloadable database of planned and actual capital commitments in FY 2015 by agency, project type, and budget line is available here.

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