Community Update Newsletter

In this issue:
	THOMPSON STUDY RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT PLAN TO CLOSE FIVE NYC EMERGENCY ROOMS
	THOMPSON ISSUES REPORT ON STATE OF NEW YORK CITY ’S ECONOMY AND FINANCES
	THOMPSON URGES YAHOO AND GOOGLE TOPROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH

THOMPSON STUDY RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT PLAN TO CLOSE FIVE NYC EMERGENCY ROOMS

Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. holds news conference on December 21, 2006 to release his report on the impact of the proposed closures of five New York City hospitals on nearby emergency rooms.

View Report
View Staten Island Emergency Rooms Utilization
View The Bronx Emergency Rooms Utilization
View Brooklyn Emergency Rooms Utilization
View Queens Emergency Rooms Utilization
View Manhattan Emergency Rooms Utilization

Report cover Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. released a study in December concluding that the closures of five New York City hospitals would require many New Yorkers to travel further to reach an emergency room - extra minutes that could prove especially critical for people needing the most urgent care.

Thompson's report came in response to recommendations by the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century to close New York Westchester Square Medical Center in the Bronx, Victory Memorial Hospital in Brooklyn, Cabrini Medical Center and St. Vincent;s Midtown Hospital in Manhattan, and Parkway Hospital in Queens.

In his report, Emergency Room Care: Will It Be There? Assessing the Impact of Closing Five Emergency Rooms in New York City, Thompson said we will see "large, potentially disruptive influxes of emergency room patients at neighboring hospitals, causing reductions in ambulance availability because of the closures."

The report found that several emergency rooms recommended for closure are heavily used by uninsured patients. When those patients switch to nearby hospitals, including New York City municipal hospitals, the receiving facilities would have to absorb extra costs. Many such hospitals also have few inpatient beds available.

Additionally, several emergency rooms slated for closure are heavily used by Medicaid enrollees for primary care and are located in areas experiencing a "serious shortage" of primary care physicians who accept Medicaid.

THOMPSON ISSUES REPORT ON STATE OF NEW YORK CITY ’S ECONOMY AND FINANCES

View The State of the City’s Economy and Finances, 2006

Comptroller Thompson, Jr. issued his Charter-mandated report on the State of the City's Economy and Finances in December. The report indicated that the City could end Fiscal Year 2007 with a surplus of more than $2 billion, $125 million more than the City’s new projection.

Thompson noted while the City has added $2.2 billion in tax revenue projections since the Budget was adopted earlier this year, an additional $160 million in tax revenues is likely to be collected in FY 2007. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which revenues will significantly exceed earlier projections.

“The improvement in the City’s revenue picture stems mostly from economic growth and real estate activity that are well above earlier expectations,” Thompson said. “The City had expected a softening real estate market, higher interest rates and the risk of higher oil prices to exert more restraint on local and national economic growth than so far has been the case.”

Along with the changes to the FY 2008 revenues and expenses, the extra funds would further narrow the projected FY 2008 gap between revenues and expenses to $205 million, a dramatic reduction from the $3.8 billion gap that was projected in June.

The City’s prosperity – featuring improved job growth and a declining unemployment rate – contributed to higher revenue projections, raising Thompson’s projected collections for the business taxes and the personal income tax by $509 million and $724 million, respectively, above the City’s Adopted Budget projections.

Additionally, the projected decline in real-estate-related tax collections has not been as rapid as previously anticipated. The City projects that FY 2007 collections for these taxes will exceed earlier expectations by $812 million.

Thompson suggested that despite additional resources, there still will be out-year gaps of $3.978 billion in FY 2009 and $3.338 billion in FY 2010. These gaps reflect growth in non-discretionary spending areas such as debt service, health insurance costs, and pensions.

THOMPSON URGES YAHOO AND GOOGLE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH

View letter to Google
View letter to Yahoo

Comptroller Thompson is calling on Yahoo and Google to establish a set of standards to enforce policies to protect freedom of access to the INternet across the globe. Acting on behalf of the New York City Pension Funds, Thompson filed shareholder resolutions with the two companies in December.

Explained Thompson, "Technology companies in the U.S. have failed to develop adequate standards by which they can conduct business with authoritarian governments while protecting human rights, including freedom of speech and freedom of expression."

As of the last quarter, the Funds had some 687,000 share (valued at over $276 million) in Google and close to 4.4. million shares in Yahoo (valued at over ($110.5 million). Thompson and the Funds are urging both companies to adhere to a set of standards, including protection of user identities and resisting pressure at censorship.