CM Maloney questions Comptroller on AI economy leadership and tourism funding

Thank you, Chair.

And thank you to the comptroller, that's my guess, for testifying.

Completely agree with you on the risks and opportunities that are presented with the shift to AI and the need for workforce development to start early in all sectors.

And we all need to be getting more comfortable with AI tools, including in nonprofit and government.

Yes.

So we have some work to do there.

And I also want to mention the other side of this coin, which is the...

Role that New York City plays in the AI economy as an applied AI leader and what we can be doing to ensure that AI companies are founded in New York, grow in New York, and that we reap from those economic benefits, if you could speak to that.

Well, first of all, I'm very grateful for your leadership for economic development.

It's extremely helpful to have someone who knows technology in that role, and you're a very good partner for me on that.

And amidst all the potential disruption on jobs that we fear might be coming from AI, there is one way that we could get

a little more of the upside, which is to have some of the jobs building these tools located right here in New York City.

And we've had that benefit so far.

We've actually, we have gotten a fair amount of the upside so far.

Also because we're financing this boom.

And the firms that are financing the data center build out, et cetera, acknowledging all the complications with that infrastructure.

But that is one reason why our budget is in a good position today.

One reason why we have closed the $12 billion gap that we were worried about in January is because

The financing of the AI boom has run through New York City.

And I know you're well aware that we've had a very good run on renting of office space.

Commercial real estate is on a tear right now.

Who saw that coming six years ago in the pandemic?

And one of the major drivers of that is AI firms.

Which are renting space at a very rapid clip.

Firms we know and startup firms, very large ecosystem.

So what can we do to support that?

I mean, this should be the capital of applied AI.

AI for healthcare, AI for research, for biotech, AI for financial services, for law,

We should be the capital of that industry, and we should do everything we can to grow that ecosystem.

We want those jobs here.

I would certainly rather the people building those tools be New Yorkers who live in a diverse city and

ride the subway every morning than someone in Silicon Valley who's living in a bubble.

That's my belief.

I'd rather that New York be the place where these new tools are built.

I agree with you on that and having New Yorkers take part of the upside.

And I wanted to ask one quick question on the revenue side with tourism.

I asked this to the OMB director prior, but I'm concerned about the lower funding for NYC tourism in fiscal year 2027 when we are seeing that projections are 10 million visitors shorter

than what we, or reality is 10 million shorter than the projections.

So do you agree with the lower funding and what assessment have you made at the Comptroller's Office about what the marginal impact of adding funding to be comparable to other cities in our country

on increased tax revenue from tourists coming and using our businesses and our services?

Thank you for fighting on this.

We are way underfunding.

NYC tourism.

The amount we're spending is a pittance relative to peer cities.

I think Las Vegas is 10x more in what the local government gives for tourism promotion.

And we're behind our goals.

This is a huge economic engine for New York City.

We need to be out there telling the story.

And we're not able to do it adequately.

So I absolutely support your fight to get more funding for tourism promotion.

And

I think you've asked for an analysis of the impact of every additional dollar.

And I don't know if that's been done, but it's something I would love to work with you on.

And the last thing I'd add to that is an assessment of how all boroughs benefit from that increased...

Look, it is unequal right now.

And, I mean, every tourist wants to go to Times Square, which, you know, if you're watching from home, it's so crowded, you'd probably be better off going to, like, Prospect Park or somewhere a little more open.

We do want to see tourism shared more equally also in uptown Manhattan and in communities of color more broadly.

And our tourism promotion can help that by uplifting the stories of the diverse communities of the city.

One more reason we need more funding for NYC tourism.

Thank you very much, and thank you, Chair.

Great, thank you.