5/28/2014
By Ivan Pereira
The reach of this past winter’s deep freeze didn’t extend to NYC’s economy, according to City Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Stringer’s first quarterly update report, which was released Wednesday, showed the polar vortexes had little effect on shopping activity because sales tax collections went up 4.4% during the first four months of 2014, compared to the 1.1% rise in collections for the other parts of the state.
“New York City was firing on all cylinders in the first quarter of 2014 even as the national economy stalled,” Stringer said in a statement.
The stores weren’t the only places that saw a surge during the winter, according to the report.
Subway ridership grew 1.5 % compared to the same period in 2013 and Broadway ticket sales went up 15.1% between winter 2013 and the first quarter of this year.
