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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 363-08
September 17, 2008

MAYOR BLOOMBERG RELEASES FY 2008 MAYOR’S MANAGEMENT REPORT

Report Reflects Continued Improvement in Key Services; Additional Indicators Added, Providing Clearer Picture of City Performance

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today released the Mayor’s Management Report (MMR) for Fiscal Year 2008.  The MMR gives an overview of City agency performance in delivering a wide array of services, and sets performance goals for Fiscal Year 2009.  The report shows that the efficiency and effectiveness of services provided to New Yorkers have generally been maintained or improved.

“The MMR provides a detailed look at the performance of more than 40 City agencies in delivering important services,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “The statistics contained in this report show that we are continuing to improve service quality in critical areas.  And by including even more indicators than in the past, we are continuing to increase the transparency of City government, which is a critical part of our belief in accountability to the public”

The MMR is now one of two complementary sources of information on New York City agency performance. The Citywide Performance Reporting (CPR) system, an online interactive dashboard, greatly enhances access to data on services, and provides monthly updates for the majority of the City’s most critical performance indicators. Launched on the City’s website in February 2008, CPR includes data from the same 45 City agencies and covered organizations that are represented in the MMR. The CPR system can be accessed at nyc.gov. In addition, the September 2008 MMR now includes more than 200 new critical performance measures that were identified during the development of the CPR system.

In addition to agency performance statistics, the MMR shows information generated by the 311 Customer Service Center.   Calls to 311 rose to more than 15.2 million, 6.3 percent greater than the prior fiscal year. Complaints about noise continued to be the single most frequent topic for 311 customers.

The following highlights some of the information about agency performance in the Fiscal 2008 MMR. Unless otherwise noted, the trends described below compare Fiscal 2007 (July 2006 through June 2007) with Fiscal 2008 (July 2007 through June 2008).

Public Safety

  • Crime is down: Major felony crime decreased for the 17th consecutive fiscal year, dropping by 3% from 123,136 in Fiscal 2007 to 119,052 in Fiscal 2008. Based on preliminary FBI crime statistics for Calendar Year 2007, New York City remains the safest big city in the country, with the lowest rate of crime among the twenty-five largest U.S. cities.

  • Homicides decreased: Murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased by 7%, from 557 in Fiscal 2007 to 516 in Fiscal 2008. For the sixth consecutive fiscal year, there were fewer than 600 murders in New York City.

  • Major felony crime decreased in transit and public housing: Major felony crime in the transit system fell by 8%, from 2,554 in Fiscal 2007 to 2,346 in Fiscal 2008. Major felony crime in public housing developments decreased by 3%, from 4,808 in Fiscal 2007 to 4,686 in Fiscal 2008.

  • Response times to all crimes in progress increased: NYPD  average response times to all crimes in progress increased by 24 seconds in Fiscal 2008, from 6.9 minutes in Fiscal 2007 to 7.3 minutes in Fiscal 2008.

  • Complaints concerning police officers decreased: The Civilian Complaint Review Board  received 7,488 complaints about alleged police officer misconduct in Fiscal 2008, a decrease of 2% from 7,662 complaints in Fiscal 2007. 

  • Civilian fire fatalities at historic low levels: The number of civilians dying in fires decreased by 8%, from 92 in Fiscal 2007 to 85 in Fiscal 2008. For the fourth consecutive fiscal year the number remains below 100.

  • Fire Department field force inspections increased: FDNY  field force inspections increased by 16%, from 48,540 in Fiscal 2007 to 56,383 in Fiscal 2008. Fire prevention staff inspections completed decreased by 10%, from 180,508 in Fiscal 2007 to 162,848 in Fiscal 2008. FDNY automated and standardized the Bureau of Fire Prevention inspection process in Fiscal 2008 so that inspections are not considered complete until all tests are concluded.

  • Structural fire response time was faster: FDNY responded to structural fires on average in 4 minutes and 22 seconds citywide in Fiscal 2008, 7 seconds faster than in Fiscal 2007. Structural fire response time improved in each of the five boroughs.

  • Medical emergency response times were mixed: Fire units responded to life-threatening medical emergencies on average 4 minutes and 19 seconds in Fiscal 2008, 5 seconds faster than in Fiscal 2007. Ambulance response time to life-threatening medical emergencies was on average 6 minutes and 39 seconds in Fiscal 2008, 3 seconds slower than in Fiscal 2007. Ambulances units were slowed due to the cumulative effects of a large increase in calls in the Bronx, fewer voluntary hospital tours in Manhattan, and the closure of two Manhattan emergency rooms.

  • Traffic fatalities decreased:   Deaths due to traffic accidents decreased from 310 in Fiscal 2007 to 300 in Fiscal 2008.

  • Repair times for traffic signals, signs and streetlights were faster:  The average time to fix a traffic signal decreased to 16.9 hours, 70% faster than in Fiscal 2007.  On average, repairs to priority signs were completed in 1.7 days versus 2.9 days last year, and street lights were repaired in 2 days, compared to 2.4 days in Fiscal 2007.

  • Construction-related incidents, injuries and fatalities increased: The Department of Buildings  reported 474 construction-related incidents, 167 injuries and 25 fatalities.  Several initiatives launched during the year focus on improving safety and stricter enforcement.

Quality of Life

  • City streets are the cleanest in 34 years: For the fourth year in a row the annual rating of acceptable street cleanliness exceeded 90%. The citywide rate of acceptably clean streets rose from 94.3% in Fiscal 2007 to 95.7% in Fiscal 2008.

  • Calls to 311 increased: The 311 Customer Service Center received 6% more calls, from 14.3 million calls in Fiscal 2007 to 15.2 million calls in Fiscal 2008. Callers waited 7 seconds on average to speak to a 311 representative and 97% of calls were answered in 30 seconds or less in Fiscal 2008.

  • Pothole work order repair time grew longer:  Pothole repairs went up from 205,227 in Fiscal 2007 to 210,032 in Fiscal 2008.  The average time to close a pothole work order where a repair was completed increased to 2.7 days from 2.1 days.  

  • Street pavement ratings declined: The percent of streets rated in good condition fell to 66.4% from 70.3% in Fiscal 2007.  Ratings are not expected to improve until Fiscal 2010, when the impact of the expanded street resurfacing program will begin to slowly reverse the decrease. 

  • Inspections of street work expanded:  Inspections of permitted street work increased by 22% to 532,661.  The Department of Transportation  conducted an additional 220,272 inspections of street work after construction had been completed to determine if contractors had properly restored the street. 

  • More than 70 lane miles added to bicycle network:  The Department of Transportation added 70.6 bicycle lane miles and accelerated its plans for the installation of bicycle racks by three years, installing 1,377 bicycle racks in Fiscal 2008. 

  • Ratings for parks were generally better: Acceptability ratings for park cleanliness held steady at 91%. While the cleanliness of small parks and playgrounds improved to 93%, cleanliness ratings of large parks declined to 78%. The Department is taking steps to prevent illegal dumping in large park properties. Overall condition ratings rose by two points to 86%.  Play equipment rated acceptable bounced back, increasing to 89% from 84% in Fiscal 2007.  Acceptability ratings for safety surfaces also improved. 

  • Tree planting and pruning at record highs: The number of trees planted jumped to 20,737 from 8,152 in Fiscal 2007. The number of trees pruned more than doubled, rising to 75,810 from 32,590.   

  • Recreation center membership jumped by more than 50%: Membership at the Department of Parks and Recreation’s  centers grew by 53% to 148,168.  Fiscal 2008 membership numbers were boosted by the opening of two new state of the art facilities, the Flushing Pool in Queens in March 2008 and the Greenbelt Recreation Center in Staten Island, which opened in the latter part of Fiscal 2008.  

  • Public library availability improved citywide:  All branches citywide were open at least six days per week and more branches were open seven days.  Average weekly scheduled hours increased in all three NYC library systems.

  • Noise complaints and violations continued to climb and response time was slower:  The Department of Environmental Protection  received 49,221 noise complaints, an increase of 17.2 percent, and issued 3,420 violations, an increase of 52.9 percent.  On average the Department closed complaints in 18.7 days compared to 15 days in Fiscal 2007.

  • Street cave-in complaints show significant increase:  The number of street cave-in complaints rose by almost 60 percent to 19,272.  On average the Department of Environmental Protection responded to street cave-ins and resolved all safety issues within 8.7 days, two days longer than in Fiscal 2007.

  • The percent of estimated water and sewer bills was the lowest since Fiscal 2001:  The percent of bills for water and sewer charges based on estimated consumption decreased from 17.6% in Fiscal 2007 to 16.3% but remained higher than the target of 15%.

  • Water main breaks reached a ten-year low and, on average, water was restored to customers within 12.1 hours:  Water main breaks decreased from 581 to 429, the lowest since Fiscal 1998.  The Department of Environmental Protection restored water to customers in an average of 12.1 hours after identifying the location of the break.

  • Constructions starts under the New Housing Marketplace Plan exceeded target:  During the Plan’s five years of implementation, construction has started on 81,416 units, nearly half the overall goal of 165,000 units. In Fiscal 2008 construction started on 17,008 units and was completed on 12,543 units.  

  • Housing complaints decreased but response times grew longer:  The number of complaints to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development  decreased by 6%, with declines in both the emergency and non-emergency categories.   However, because significantly more heat and hot water complaints required an inspection, response times grew longer.  The average time to close emergency complaints increased to 16.4 days versus 14.7 days last year, and non-emergency complaints were closed in 39.9 days compared to 34.7 days in Fiscal 2007.  The total number of violations issued fell 7%, from 521,547 in Fiscal 2007 to 483,578 in Fiscal 2008.

  • Housing Authority elevator repair times are slower: Average time to resolve elevator complaints in public housing rose from 10.2 hours in Fiscal 2007 to 10.4 hours in Fiscal 2008. However, the percent of time that elevators were in service increased from 97.5% to 98.2%.

  • Taxi complaints are handled more efficiently: The average time to close a consumer complaint about for-hire vehicles dropped to less than 24 days, 50% faster than last year.  During Fiscal 2007 the Taxi and Limousine Commission  changed how it handles these complaints and also improved its tracking methods, resulting in a more streamlined and efficient process.

  • Tort payouts increased: Payouts by the City for tort claims increased by $20 million to approximately $554 million in Fiscal 2008. The increase is due to seven unusually high payouts.

Education

  • English and Math achievement levels improve strongly: The percent of students in grades 3 to 8 meeting or exceeding standards in English Language Arts increased by 6.8 percentage points to 57.6 percent in School Year 2007-2008. Students in grades 3 to 8 meeting or exceeding standards in Math increased by 9.2 percentage points to 74.3 percent.

  • Class size continued to decline: For the 2007-08 School Year average class size declined across all grade levels.

  • Regents exam scores rise: Data is now available for Regents examination performance for the 2006-2007 School Year. The percent of students in the graduating class with a 65 to 100 passing score on the Regents examination increased in four of five subject areas.

  • Graduation rate improves: The four-year graduation rate for general education high school students rose to 62.0 percent for the 2006-2007 School Year. The rate has risen steadily since 2002.

  • Parent coordinators continue to provide assistance: Parent coordinators assigned to the public schools responded to more than 1,570,000 phone calls in the 2007-08 School Year, an increase of 16% compared to the previous year. Parents receiving assistance from coordinators on a walk-in basis increased slightly, by 0.4 percent, while parents attending parent coordinator workshops increased by 66 percent and the number of workshops held for parents increased 80 percent.

  • Expansion of school space continues: A total of 11,471 new student seats were added in Fiscal 2008, 4.5 percent more than planned. This was more than twice as many as the 5,556 new school seats added the previous year and the most new school seats provided in four years. The Department of Education  and the School Construction Authority plan to add 13,575 new student seats in the coming year.

  • School safety continued to improve: Major felony crime in schools decreased by 10%, from 1,164 in Fiscal 2007 to 1,042 in Fiscal 2008. Impact Schools experienced a 26% reduction in major felony crime during the same period.

Human Services

  • Indicators of the street homeless population declined: The third citywide Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) showed a 12% drop in the estimated number of unsheltered individuals living in New York City, from 3,755 in Fiscal 2007 to 3,306 in Fiscal 2008. Average daily census figures in the City’s homeless shelters declined by 8% and 6% for adult families and single adults respectively, while the census for families with children increased by 2%.

  • The number of families placed into permanent housing increased: Placements of homeless adult families into permanent housing rose to 1,153 in Fiscal 2008, 118% more than the prior year. The number of families with children placed into permanent housing rose to 6,331, up 12 percent from Fiscal 2007. These increases reflect the Department’s aggressive work with clients at family facilities to prepare them for placement into permanent housing, and the implementation of Advantage NY, the Department’s new rental assistance program, in late Fiscal 2007.

  • Response time to child abuse and neglect reports is the fastest since Fiscal 2000: The percentage of abuse and neglect reports responded to within 24 hours of receipt by the Administration for Children's Services increased from 96% in Fiscal 2007 to 97.3% in Fiscal 2008, the highest reported in the Mayor’s Management Report since Fiscal 2000.

  • Repeat child abuse reports decreased: During Fiscal 2008 the percent of children in completed investigations with repeat investigations within a year declined from 22% to 21.4%, and the percent of children with substantiated reports followed by a second substantiated report within one year decreased from 14.7% to 14.2%. These trends reflect a more careful approach to investigations and service delivery, largely as the result of ChildStat, the Administration for Children’s Services’ weekly data and case review process.

  • Foster care population was stable: The average number of children in foster care was 16,946 in Fiscal 2008 compared to 17,004 in Fiscal 2007.

  • The number of people receiving cash assistance declined: The number of persons receiving cash assistance decreased by 5.4%, or nearly 20,000, to approximately 341,300 at the close of in Fiscal 2008. This population has decreased 26.2% since December 2001 to the lowest number of cash assistance recipients since October 1963. This reduction reflects the Human Resources Administration’s  continued welfare reform efforts designed to engage recipients in work and work-related activities, enhancing their ability to obtain employment and maximize their self-sufficiency.

  • The number of persons receiving food stamps increased: The number of persons receiving food stamps increased by 13.4%. Among these recipients, the number of non-cash assistance persons receiving food stamps increased 16.5%

  • Resources and program participation for domestic violence victims expanded: Emergency beds made available for victims of domestic violence by the Human Resources Administration increased from 2,081 in Fiscal 2007 to 2,144 in Fiscal 2008. The monthly average of individuals participating in HRA’s nonresidential programs rose from 2,957 in Fiscal 2007 to 3,209 in Fiscal 2008 and has doubled since Fiscal 2003.

  • More working families are living in public housing:  In Fiscal 2008, 64% of applicants placed in public housing were working families and more than 45% of public housing residents are working families, compared to 60% and 44%, respectively, in Fiscal 2007.

  • Day care site inspections increased and complaints decreased: The number of initial site inspections of day care facilities monitored by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene  rose 6%, from 17,668 in Fiscal 2007 to 18,695 in Fiscal 2008. Day Care site complaints received by the Department decreased 7% over this period, from 1,663 in fiscal 2007 to 1,554 in Fiscal 2008.

Health

  • Asthma patients needed fewer emergency room visits in public hospitals: The rate of emergency room revisits within seven days of discharge for adult asthma patients decreased from 6.8% in Fiscal 2007 to 5.2% in Fiscal 2008, and the revisit rate for pediatric asthma patients fell from 4.2% to 3.1%. The Health and Hospitals Corporation’s Asthma Initiative, combined with facility-specific asthma programs, emphasize close monitoring of asthma patients.

  • The infant mortality rate continues to decline: The rate of infant deaths per thousand live births dropped from 5.9 in Calendar 2006 to 5.4 in Calendar 2007, the lowest rate ever recorded in New York City. Department of Health and Mental Hygiene efforts to reduce infant mortality include numerous programs for new mothers and ongoing focus on City neighborhoods with high mortality rates.

  • Lead poisoning cases continue to decline: For children under 18 years old, the number of new cases requiring environmental intervention for lead poisoning decreased by 18%, from 712 in Fiscal 2007 to 584 in Fiscal 2008. For those from 6 months to less than 6 years old, the number of new lead poisoning cases with blood lead levels greater than or equal to 10 micrograms per deciliter declined by approximately 15% from Fiscal 2007 to Fiscal 2008.

  • Health Department increases exterminations. The number of pest control exterminations increased by 16% in Fiscal 2008 compared to Fiscal 2007 to over 60,000. The hiring of additional exterminators increased the Department’s capacity to conduct exterminations, and the Department undertook an enhanced rodent control initiative in the Bronx in Fiscal 2008 that entailed increased extermination work.

  • HIV/AIDS mortality is lower: The number of New Yorkers who die from HIV/AIDS continued to decline in Calendar 2007, to 1,108. This represents a reduction of 8 percent since the prior year and 33 percent compared with Calendar 2003.

  • The trend in syphilis cases is rising: Syphilis cases increased by 20% in Fiscal 2008, from 805 to 965. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues efforts to increase case-finding and heighten community involvement and awareness regarding the need for screening, symptom recognition.

  • Tobacco use declined: The proportion of adult New Yorkers who smoke was 16.9% in Calendar 2007, a decrease from 17.5% the prior year. The smoking rate among Staten Island residents declined from 27.2 percent to 20.4 percent, the first such decline since 2002.

Economy

  • Workforce1 job placements held steady: The number of Workforce1 Career Center  job placements remained essentially the same  - 17,149 in Fiscal 2008 compared to 17,218 last year - despite operating with two fewer centers. 

  • Certifications of Minority and Women-Owned Enterprise Businesses continue to rise: Newly certified businesses participating in the Department of Small Business  Services’ Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program grew to 550 in Fiscal 2008 from 452 in Fiscal 2007, and by the end of Fiscal 2008 there were a total of 1,604 participating businesses.  The number of City contracts awarded to M/WBEs increased by 25% to 5,762 from 4,600 in Fiscal 2007.

  • More consumer complaints were resolved and processing times were faster:   The Department of Consumer Affairs  closed 7,612 complaints in Fiscal 2008 compared to 7,294 in the prior year. The median time to process a complaint was 35 days, down from 90 days in Fiscal 2007.

  • Unemployment rate inched up: The City’s unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points, to 5.0%.

  • Funding agreements leveraged third-party investment of more than $4 billion: The value of City funding agreements between the New York City Economic Development Corporation  and non-City entities increased to $315.3 million in Fiscal 2008 from $147.5 million in Fiscal 2007. Third-party investment leveraged as a result of these agreements jumped to more than $4 billion from approximately $2 billion, with the Atlantic Railyards project accounting for $3.9 billion of the total.

  • Response times to Department of Finance correspondence reduced:    The Department of Finance  reduced response times for both electronic and regular mail by two-thirds, answering e-mails in 6.5 days and regular mail in 8 days. 

  • Construction permits continued upward trend: The number of permits issued by the Department of Buildings rose to 121,571 in Fiscal 2008 from 118,870 in Fiscal 2007, with increases in both initial and renewal permits. Constructions inspections remained essentially unchanged at 229,157.






MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser/Marc La Vorgna   (212) 788-2958




More Resources
Read the 2008 Mayor's Management Report