Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today released the Mayor’s Management Report (MMR) for fiscal year 2007. The MMR provides an overview of City agency performance in delivering a wide array of services, and sets performance goals for fiscal 2008. The report generally shows continued success in the amount, timeliness, and quality of services provided to citizens during the most recent year and over a five-year period. Critical services were mostly maintained or improved during the reporting period, and targeted service levels remain at or above the previous years levels.

“The Mayor’s Management Report continues to serve the goals of transparency and accountability which are the hallmarks of this Administration,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “By highlighting relative levels of efficiency and effectiveness across all the important areas of City services, in comparison to past performance and to annual targets, the MMR encourages agencies to focus on the areas needing improvement and to build on ongoing success.”

In addition to agency performance statistics, the MMR shows information generated by the 311 Customer Service Center.   Calls to 311 rose to more than 14.3 million, an increase of nearly 70,000 compared to 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 2007 MMR. Unless otherwise noted, the trends described below compare fiscal 2006 (July 2005 through June 2006) with fiscal 2007 (July 2006 through June 2007).

Public Safety

• Crime is down: Major felony crime decreased for the 16th consecutive fiscal year, dropping by 5% from 130,093 in fiscal 2006 to 123,136 in fiscal 2007. Based on preliminary FBI crime statistics for calendar 2006, New York City remains the safest large city, with the lowest rate of crime among the ten largest U.S. cities.

• Homicides decreased: Reports of murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased by 1%, from 564 in fiscal 2006 to 557 in fiscal 2007. For the fifth 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 6%, from 2,709 in fiscal 2006 to 2,554 in fiscal 2007. Major felony crime in public housing developments decreased by 4%, from 5,005 in fiscal 2006 to 4,808 in fiscal 2007.

• Response times to crimes in progress improved again: NYPD response times to all crimes in progress decreased again in fiscal 2007, including response time to critical incidents, which decreased by 6 seconds to 4.2 minutes, and response time to serious incidents, which decreased by 24 seconds to 5.6 minutes.

• Civilian fire fatalities remained at historic low levels: The number of civilians dying in fires decreased by two deaths from 94 in fiscal 2006 to 92 in fiscal 2007. For the third year in a row the number remains below 100.

• Structural fire response times were faster: FDNY responded to structural fires on average in 4 minutes and 29 seconds citywide in fiscal 2007, a decrease of 3 seconds over fiscal 2006.
 
• Medical emergency response times were faster again: Response time to life-threatening medical emergencies, counting both fire companies and ambulance units, improved by 6 seconds to an average of 5 minutes and 43 seconds in fiscal 2007.

• Fire Department inspections decreased: Field force inspections decreased by 1%, from 49,109 in fiscal 2006 to 48,540 in fiscal 2007. The Fire Department is currently designing and installing new accountability measures for the inspection process.

• Traffic fatalities increased:  Traffic deaths went up for the second consecutive year, from 307 in fiscal 2006 to 310 in fiscal 2007, but remained below levels seen prior to fiscal 2005.

• Complaints concerning police officers rose: The Civilian Complaint Review Board received an estimated 7,662 complaints about alleged police officer misconduct in fiscal 2007, an increase of 4% over the previous year.

Quality of Life

• City streets are the cleanest in 33 years: For the third year, in a row the annual rating of acceptable street cleanliness exceeded 90%. The citywide rate of acceptably clean streets rose from 93.1% in fiscal 2006 to 94.3% in fiscal 2007.

• Recycling rates improve: Although improving slightly in fiscal 2007, the Department of Sanitation did not meet the target for total recycling diversion rate due in large part to the
diminishing use of clean fill and road-building materials at the Fresh Kills Landfill. In addition, DSNY did not meet its target for curbside and containerized recycling in part because paper collection continues to decrease with a decline in print newspaper readership. The Department has increased its public awareness efforts to boost recycling, launched a public space recycling pilot program, and began steps to crack down on repeat violators of recycling rules.

• Calls to 311 rose slightly: The 311 Customer Service Center received over 14.3 million calls in fiscal 2007, an increase of approximately 69,000 calls compared to fiscal 2006.

• Pothole repairs increased: The number of pothole repairs went up 14% from 179,728 in fiscal 2006 to 205,227 in fiscal 2007; the percent of pothole work orders completed within 30 days remained unchanged from last year at 99%.

• Street pavement ratings held steady: After seven years of decline, the percent of streets rated in good condition went from 69.9% in fiscal 2006 to 70.3% in fiscal 2007.  Inspections of permitted street work increased by 28% largely due to more staffing. 

• Housing Authority elevator repair times are slower: Average time to resolve elevator complaints in public housing grew from 9.6 hours in fiscal 2006 to 10.2 hours in fiscal 2007. However, the percent of time that elevators were in service increased from 96.9% to 97.5%.

• Tort payouts increased: Payouts by the City for tort claims increased by $58 million to approximately $535 million in fiscal 2007. The increase is due to five unusually high payouts, including two verdicts totaling almost $22 million and three settlements equaling $20 million.

• Private ferry routes and ridership declined: The number of private ferry routes declined by 16% due to route consolidation and the cancellation of one route due to low ridership. Overall ridership fell by 4.4%.

• Ratings for parks declined: Acceptability ratings for park cleanliness were better than the annual target but fared lower than fiscal 2006, while ratings for playground safety surfaces remained unchanged at 92%.  Acceptability ratings for overall condition and playground equipment fell to 84% in fiscal 2007, and failed to meet the performance goals.

• More comfort stations, spray showers and drinking fountains were in service: For the first time since the Department of Parks and Recreation began reporting on these measures, in fiscal 2007 in-service ratings in all three categories were above 90%.

• Fewer trees were planted: The number of trees planted decreased from 9,100 in fiscal 2006 to 8,152 in fiscal 2007 but is expected to climb significantly in fiscal 2008. 

• Tree maintenance goals exceeded: In fiscal 2007, the Department of Parks and Recreation removed 96% of street trees within 30 days of a request and, through its block-by-block pruning program, serviced 32,590 trees. 

• Violations issued for noise were down overall: Unreasonable noise summonses issued by the Police Department declined to 12,286 in fiscal 2007, a drop of 27%. Noise violations issued by the Department of Environmental Protection rose by 12%, to 2,237.
• Response times to air and noise complaints continued to improve: The Department of Environmental Protection exceeded its timeliness standards in fiscal 2007, responding to 86% of air complaints and 87% of noise complaints not requiring property access within seven days, compared to 77% and 82%, respectively, during the prior year.

• The percent of estimated water and sewer bills decreased but still fell short of target: Although still higher than the target of 15%, the percent of bills for water and sewer charges based on estimated consumption decreased from 19.2% in fiscal 2006 to 17.6% in fiscal 2007. 

• More water meters were repaired/replaced: In anticipation of a change to automated meter reading, the Department of Environmental Protection repaired or replaced 31,490 meters in fiscal 2007 compared to 23,423 in fiscal 2006. 

• Response times to leaks, sewer and catch basin back-ups met performance standards but grew longer: The number of leak complaints rose by 18% while the volume of sewer and catch basin complaints experienced modest decreases.  Average response times were slightly slower in all three categories but better than the established timeliness standards.

• Constructions starts under the New Housing Marketplace Plan reached a milestone: During the Plan’s four years of implementation, construction has started on 64,408 units, more than a third of the overall goal of 165,000 units. In fiscal 2007, construction started on 18,465 units and 15,550 units were completed.  

• Housing complaints level off: The number of complaints to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development grew by less than 1% compared to the significant increases of the past four years. The total number of violations issued fell from 582,038 in Fiscal 2006 to 521,547 in fiscal 2007, with the biggest decline in the non-emergency category. 

• Response time to emergency housing complaints grew longer: The average response time to emergency complaints in general increased from 11 hours in fiscal 2006 to 15.8 hours in fiscal 2007 due to a procedural change in owner/agent notification by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development which resulted in a longer average response time, but increased the likelihood of a successful resolution. 

• A record number of housing violations were corrected and removed:  Initiatives by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development led to the correction and removal of more than 675,000 violations in fiscal 2007 compared to approximately 643,000 last year.

Education

• School safety continued to improve: City schools experienced a reduction in major felony crime of 2%, from 1,187 in fiscal 2006 to 1,164 in fiscal 2007.  Impact Schools experienced a 22% reduction in major felony crime during the same period.

• Class sizes are smaller: For the 2006-07 school year average, class size was stable or dropped in kindergarten and grades two through eight; average class sizes in first and ninth grade increased slightly, and fewer of the City’s youngest children were in classes of 29 or more students. The percent of students in grades one through three in classes of more than 29 students was 1.2% in the 2006-07 school year, down from 1.4% the prior year.

• Parent coordinators continue to provide assistance: Parent coordinators assigned to the public schools responded to over 1,350,000 phone calls in the 2006-07 school year, a decrease of 1.9% compared to the previous year. Parents receiving assistance from coordinators on a walk-in basis rose by 2.4%, while parent attendance at parent coordinator workshops declined by 10%.

• Attendance trends were up slightly for public schools: Attendance rates for elementary and middle school students declined by less than 1% and high school student attendance improved slightly in the 2006-07 school year. The proportion of students with a 90% or better attendance rate increased to 69.1% and exceeded the target for the school year.

• All teachers in City schools are certified for the second consecutive year:  The number of teachers in the public schools increased from 76,167 at the end of the 2005-2006 school year to 77,160 at the end of the 2006-2007 school year.  For the second consecutive year, every teacher in City schools is certified.

• Expansion of school space continues: Through new construction, leasing and space conversion, the Department of Education and the School Construction Authority provided 5,556 new student seats for the start of the 2006-07 school year. A total of 4,236 new seats are planned for the 2007-08 and 10,981 new seats are planned for the 2008-09 school year.

Human Services

• Indicators of the street homeless population declined: The second citywide Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) showed a 2% drop in the estimated number of unsheltered individuals living in New York City, from 3,843 in fiscal 2006 to 3,755 in fiscal 2007. Average daily census figures in the City’s homeless shelters rose by 14% and 11% for families with children and adult families respectively, while the single adult census declined by 8%.

• The number of single adults placed into permanent housing rose, while placements of families with children fell overall: Placements of homeless single adults into permanent housing grew in fiscal 2007 to 9,346, 25% more than the prior year. Permanent placements of families with children declined by 9%, while those for adult families rose by 17%. The Department of Homeless Services is working to obtain more family placements through the new AdvantageNY program.

• Response time to child abuse and neglect reports improved: The percent of abuse and neglect reports responded to within 24 hours by the Administration for Children’s Services increased from 94.2% in Fiscal 2006 to 96.1% in fiscal 2007.

• The foster care population increased: The average number of children in foster care grew to 17,006 in fiscal 2007 from 16,807 in fiscal 2006.

• Cash assistance rolls declined while food stamp enrollment remained stable: The number of cash assistance recipients declined to approximately 360,700 at the close of fiscal 2007, 8% below the previous year. Food stamp enrollment remained stable at almost 1.1 million recipients, while food stamp enrollment among people not receiving cash assistance increased nearly 10% in fiscal 2007.

• Processing time decreased for applications for senior citizens’ rent increase exemptions: The Department for the Aging’s processing time for new applications and SCRIE re-certifications continued to decline, dropping from 14 days in fiscal 2006 to 13 days in fiscal 2007.

• More public housing residents have jobs:  In fiscal 2007, 60% of applicants placed in public housing were families where at least one adult was employed – and more than 44% of public housing residents are working families, compared to 56% and 43%, respectively, in fiscal 2006.

• Day care inspections increased: The number of initial site inspections of day care facilities monitored by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene rose 15%, from 15,419 in fiscal 2006 to 17,688 in fiscal 2007. Day Care site complaints received by the Department rose 10% over this period, from 1,508 in fiscal 2006 to 1,663 in fiscal 2007.

• Resources for domestic violence victims were expanded: Emergency beds made available for victims of domestic violence by the Human Resources Administration remained stable at 2,081 in fiscal 2007. The monthly average of individuals participating in HRA’s nonresidential programs rose from 2,879 in fiscal 2006 to 2,957 in fiscal 2007, and has nearly doubled since fiscal 2003.

Health

• The infant mortality rate continues to decline: The rate of infant deaths per thousand live births dropped from 6.0 in calendar year 2005 to 5.9 in calendar year 2006. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues to focus efforts to combat infant mortality in the City’s neighborhoods with highest mortality rates.

• Childhood asthma indicators were mixed: The hospitalization rate for asthma among children aged 0-14 remained stable at 5.4 per 1,000 children in calendar year 2006. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene increased its efforts to combat childhood asthma through a variety of community- and school-based programs. The rate of pediatric asthma emergency room revisits in the City’s public hospitals increased from 3.3% in calendar year 2005 to 4.2% in calendar year 2006.

• Lead poisoning cases showed an overall decline: From fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2007, the number of new lead poisoning cases with blood lead levels greater than or equal to 10 micrograms per deciliter declined by approximately 17% for those children aged 6 months to less than 6 years.  The number of children requiring environmental intervention for lead poisoning in fiscal 2007 was 714, a 20% decrease from the 896 cases requiring environmental intervention in the previous year.

• New AIDS cases continue to decrease: An estimated 3,750 new adult cases of AIDS were diagnosed in Calendar 2006, 406 less than the previous year, and over 2,000 fewer than in calendar year 2001.

• The trend in syphilis cases is rising: Syphilis cases increased by 37%, from 587 in fiscal 2006 to 805 in fiscal 2007. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues efforts to increase case-finding and heighten community involvement and awareness regarding the need for screening and symptom recognition.

• Tobacco use declined: The proportion of adult New Yorkers who smoke was 17.5% in calendar year 2006, a decrease of more than one percentage point from the prior year. The rate remains lower than at any time prior to 2004.

• Tuberculosis reached an historic low: A total of 953 TB cases were reported in New York City in calendar year 2006, 3% fewer than the prior year and a 42% overall decrease from calendar year 1997.

Economy and Business Affairs

• Wait times for parking ticket decisions cut in half: Decisions for in-person parking ticket hearings were issued in 24 minutes in fiscal 2007 compared to 60 minutes in fiscal 2006, and decisions on parking tickets contested through the mail or web went from 86.4 days to 34.1 days.

• The number of licensed home improvement contractors continued to rise: The number of licensed home improvement contractors reached 10,673 in fiscal 2007 compared to 8,585 last year.

• More consumer complaints were resolved but processing times were longer: The Department of Consumer Affairs closed 7,294 complaints in fiscal 2007 compared to 6,256 in the prior year; 49% of complaints were processed within 90 days compared to 57% in fiscal 2006.

• Construction permits saw a modest increase: The number of permits issued by the Department of Buildings rose to 118,870 in fiscal 2007 from 116,947 in fiscal 2006; the increase came among renewal permits. Constructions inspections increased by approximately 10% to 229,191 in fiscal 2007 from 209,066 in fiscal 2006.

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• Response times to growing number of building complaints exceeded performance goals: Despite an increase of nearly 9,000 complaints, the Department of Buildings responded to 96.6% of emergency complaints within 1.5 days and 91.5% of non-emergencies within 40 days in fiscal 2007, better than the established targets and the prior year.  

• Workforce1 job-seeking registrants and placements increased: The number of new jobseekers registered for Workforce1 Career Center program services jumped to 41,671 in fiscal 2007 from 28,175 in fiscal 2006, largely due to changes to eligibility requirements. The number of job placements increased by more than a third, to 17,212 from 12,637.

• Newly certified Minority and Women-Owned Enterprise Businesses increased: The number of newly certified businesses participating in the Department of Small Business Services’ Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Program grew to 452 in fiscal 2007 from 379 in fiscal 2006, and by the end of fiscal 2007 there were a total of 1,236 participating businesses.

• More buildings Landmarked this year than any year since 1990: The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated 24 individual landmarks and three historic districts in fiscal 2007, bringing the total number of buildings designated to 1,158, the highest number in a single year since fiscal 1990.
 
• Unemployment rate dropped further: The City’s unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in fiscal 2007 from 5.5% in fiscal 2006.

• Funding agreements leveraged non-City investment of nearly $2 billion: The value of City funding agreements between the New York City Economic Development Corporation and non-City entities increased to $147.5 million in fiscal 2007 from $53.6 million in fiscal 2006, while the non-City investment leveraged as a result of these agreements jumped to almost $2 billion from approximately $143 million as a result of stadium deals.
 
• Rezonings seek to protect against over-development: In fiscal 2007 the Department of City Planning referred for public review rezonings in eight low-density neighborhoods as part of a citywide strategy to address over-development issues.