The city shelled out a record $213 million in decisions and settlements from July through October, according to Mayor Adams’ preliminary management report.
The total is a staggering 200% jump from the $60 million forked over during the same period for fiscal year 2023, and a record for the four-month timeframe covered by the PMMR dating back to at least fiscal year 2002, a review of prior reports show.
New York City is a lucrative target for civil suits thanks to its tendency to settle on any issue, big or small, said Ken Girardin, research director at the conservative watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy.
“When it comes to lawsuits, the New York City government is a big shirtless guy in a cloud of mosquitoes,” he said.
The biggest hits to city taxpayers included:
The surge in payouts also stems from courts continuing to move through a backlog of litigation which piled up during the pandemic, according to a Law Department spokesman.
Big Apple district attorneys in recent years have also reversed a number of decades-old criminal convictions.
“We carefully evaluate cases and try to resolve them in the best interest of the city. Settlements can avoid the risk of protracted litigation which can be even costlier to taxpayers,” the Law Department spokesman said.
The $213 million total did not include the city’s explosive $13 million federal class-action settlement announced in July with Black Lives Matter protestors, who alleged they were beaten or improperly arrested by police in June 2020, the Law Department said, because the case hasn’t been finalized.