Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Living Wage Study Ordered By Bloomberg Agrees With Bloomberg
By
John Del Signore
Published May 10, 2011
Modified May 11, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published May 10, 2011
Modified May 11, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Whaddaya know, the study that Mayor Bloomberg requested on a proposed living wage law has determined exactly what Bloomberg wanted to hear: That requiring developers who receive taxpayer subsidies to pay a living wage would actually hurt employment in NYC. The NYC Economic Development Corporation spent $1 million in taxpayer money to pay a Boston-based consulting firm (they couldn't even source it locally!?) to produce the controversial study, which City Hall News notes was co-authored by a professor who's seen by some as having a long history releasing reports slanted against the adoption of wage mandates.
The living wage bill would require all employers in developments that receive more than $100,000 in city subsidies to pay workers $10-per-hour if the employer pays health care benefits, or $11.50 an hour if they do not. (A similar initiative that would have required a developer at the Kingsbridge Armory to pay a living wage was shot down by the Bloomberg administration.) The Walls Street Journal reports that the Bloomberg-sponsored study found that:
About one-third of retail projects in the boroughs outside Manhattan would not proceed if the legislation passes. The study estimates 24% of office projects in Manhattan would also fail. Such a decrease in commercial development would translate into the loss of roughly 33,000 jobs per year at all levels of compensation, the study said.
The study also said between 34,000 and 62,000 workers would receive average wage gains ranging from $1.65 to $1.67 per hour. But at the same time, between 6,000 and 13,000 city residents would lose jobs as a result of the legislation.
A mayoral spokesperson further scaremongered that if the bill passes, the city would lose an estimated $7 billion. That number is apparently nowhere in the study, but that's what Bloomberg guesstimates. Council Member Oliver Koppell, a Bronx Democrat and the bill's lead sponsor, told the Journal he's "very skeptical" of the findings. And Bettina Damiani, project director for Good Jobs New York, asks City Hall News, "If working New Yorkers can’t count on earning a living wage," she said, "what policy recommendations does the Bloomberg Administration plan to put forward to lift workers out of poverty?"
That question is sure to come up tomorrow, when the City Council holds a hearing on the proposal. The bill's fate largely rests in the hands of Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has not said whether she supports it, but has previously killed a paid-sick-leave bill, after a study funded by the Partnership for New York City showed the legislation would cost the city $789 million annually.
Living Wage Exec Summary_2011 05 09
Tagged
City Council
edc
living wage
mayor bloomberg
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 11:36 a.m. ET
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans. We could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans. We could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .