AGING GRACEFULLY: The state Office for the Aging conducted the first ever statewide needs assessment survey that found 72 percent of New York residents over age 60 consider themselves to be in good health. It was the first and most in-depth survey of its kind in the state. It was conducted in spring 2023 with the help from a research firm, Polco, and the Association on Aging in New York. Out of the nearly 27,000 responses, 78 percent also considered the communities they live in to be excellent or good places to live. That’s good news for a state struggling with population decline and the largest out-migration to other states in the nation, including to warmer states. “While the results may be surprising to some, they confirm what many in the aging services field already recognize — older adults broadly consider themselves healthy, active and engaged in their communities,” the agency director, Greg Olsen, said in a statement. The survey identified housing as a priority area of need: 39 percent of respondents reported that they struggled finding housing that “suited their needs, and 69 percent said that availability of affordable, quality housing was fair/poor.” That too is insightful: A top priority for Hochul is new housing. — Shawn Ness FOOD INSECURITY: Despite a stronger economy, food insecurity is increasing, according to a new report from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. One out of nine households reported they were unable to secure enough food at one point or another between 2020 and 2022. “As the Covid pandemic ended, so did many of the enhanced federal benefits that helped struggling families put food on the table, and just as food and other household costs started to rise,” DiNapoli said in a statement. The report found that between 2021 and 2023, food-at-home costs rose greatly. And monthly SNAP expenses increased 142 percent between 2020 and 2023, which is when emergency SNAP allotments ended. During the pandemic, families saw increases in SNAP benefits. Still, households with children experienced the highest rates of food insecurity, peaking at 16 percent of households in 2022. “Data from the first three months of 2024 indicate that while rates are dropping, roughly one-in-nine households with children in New York sometimes or often do not have enough to eat,” according to DiNapoli’s news release. — Shawn Ness CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: New York’s construction workforce is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, per a new report from the New York Building Congress. The organization found the statewide construction workforce is poised to grow to 590,000 workers by the end of this year compared to 585,000 workers in 2019. The workforce is expected to expand further following federal infrastructure investments and as migrants and asylum seekers enter the industry after obtaining work authorization, the report said. The state’s construction workforce is also becoming younger and more diverse, the report said: 46 percent of workers identified as non-white, up from 43 percent in 2021. And 7.8 percent of construction workers were under 25, up from 6.6 percent the previous year. “Our latest Workforce Snapshot showcases our industry's tremendous milestones since the pandemic while reaffirming that the construction industry remains a pathway to the middle class for all New Yorkers,” Carlo Scissura, president and CEO of the Building Congress, said in a statement. — Janaki Chadha SEEN A GHOST: New York officials are trying to crack down on the use of “ghost” license plates meant to evade toll cameras. But as congestion pricing is set to take effect on June 30, the good-government organization Reinvent Albany wants state officials to go even further. The $237 billion state budget approved last month included higher fines and motor vehicle registration suspensions for drivers who are repeat offenders, all in a bid to crack down on plates that are obscured or fake in order to evade cameras. But the group worries the final agreement included what amounts to a loophole: Allowing drivers to “correct” their fake or obscured license plate and avoid being fined. “We think this is a bad idea and will be widely abused,” the group said today in a statement. Advocates had preferred Hochul’s initial proposal to have police confiscate illegal plates and covers and also issue a summons. “We anticipate this loophole causing serious problems for the congestion program and toll collection generally, and we urge the MTA and other authorities to collect and publish open data regarding the enforcement of the toll evasion provisions,” the group said. It is also calling for the release of the number of summons issued and where, as well as the amount of money taken in from fines in order to properly gauge how effective the crackdown has been to address the issue. — Nick Reisman SUNY ALLOCATES FUNDING: The SUNY Board of Trustees approved a plan that will allocate a majority of the $114 million increase in state funding to cover union salaries. The accompanying resolution approved Chancellor John King's proposal to spend $102 million on the increase in union salaries negotiated last year, POLITICO reported today. The remainder of the money will be used to increase funding for internships, research, and to reduce mandatory fees for graduate students. While United University Professions President Fred Kowal said he is happy to see the administration covering the cost of salary contracts, which will total to nearly $150 million, he would like to see a great investment in four-year institutions outside of the four university centers. University centers — Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton and Stony Brook — are slated to see a 10.6 percent increase in state aid, which comes to about 40.3 percent of the state funding sent to all four-year institutions. — Katelyn Cordero
| 
