New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the launch of his new online tool to monitor spending of federal recovery aid and COVID-19 relief programs in the state, including funds for excluded workers, childcare providers, emergency rental and homeowner assistance, and small business recovery.

“My office is committed to full transparency in government spending,” DiNapoli said. “New York has received an historic level of federal funding to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. This has helped stabilize state and local government finances and allowed for greater investments in programs to assist New Yorkers in need. My office will follow the money to ensure federal funds are getting where they are supposed to go and being spent in smart and efficient ways to help New York’s recovery.”

The dashboard explains each federal and state program, and how much has been received and spent to date. The data will be updated monthly and expanded to include additional programs and spending details as new information becomes available. New Yorkers can use the tool to understand how federal aid is used and to inform future conversations about budget priorities.

Funds received and spent through Sept. 30, 2021 are listed in the table below. Some insights from the tracker include:

• The Excluded Workers Fund has disbursed $968.5 million of $2.1 billion; the state budget forecasts it will be fully disbursed in the current fiscal year.
• The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is forecast to be fully disbursed in State Fiscal Year 2022-23; $696.4 million of the $2.85 billion has been disbursed.

“We thank State Comptroller DiNapoli and his staff for creating this new federal aid tracker,” said Rachael Fauss, senior research analyst for Reinvent Albany. “We look forward to using this new transparency tool, and so will journalists and other interested members of the public. We hope the tool continues to evolve and improve with use."

"Citizens Union applauds Comptroller DiNapoli and his team for creating this important tool that will allow New Yorkers to track how the state is spending federal funding,” said Citizens Union Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum, “With such large sums of money coming to New York through the American Rescue Plan and other acts, this type of disclosure is crucial for the public to properly evaluate how aid is being spent. We appreciate the Comptroller's commitment to transparency and look forward to more detailed disclosure so the public can further track how money is being spent. We encourage local governments to create similar trackers so taxpayers can see how the funds that have been distributed to counties and municipalities are being spent, as well."

"The Comptroller’s federal aid tracker is an important step forward for transparency and accountability,” said Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew S. Rein. “The public deserves to know how and when its money is being spent and this provides much needed insight into a broad range of important relief and recovery programs. The massive influx of federal aid provides great opportunities, but only if it is managed well and drives results. This is an important part of ensuring that success."

"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have emphasized the need for transparency and open data,” said Noel Hidalgo, executive director of BetaNYC, a public interest technology non-profit. “As we figure out how to support those who have suffered most, we need to know if our neighbors are truly getting the financial assistance they need. This website is one open data tool to hold those systems accountable. We are thankful that the Comptroller has built this site for us to see if funds are being distributed. We are looking forward to iterative improvements."

For a specific breakdown of spending, contact the agency overseeing the program area. In some limited instances, the Comptroller’s office can provide more detailed information.

Dashboard
Interactive Federal Funding and Relief Programs Tracker

Track state and local government spending at Open Book New York. Under State Comptroller DiNapoli’s open data initiative, search millions of state and local government financial records, track state contracts, and find commonly requested data.