US News Metro Long Island Politics

Sports NFL MLB Olympics NBA NHL College Football College Basketball WNBA

Entertainment TV Movies Music Celebrities Awards Theater

Lifestyle Weird But True Sex & Relationships Viral Trends Human Interest Parenting Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Travel

Health Wellness Fitness Health Care Medicine Men’s Health Women’s Health Mental Health Nutrition

Science Space Environment Wildlife Archaeology

Today’s Paper Covers Columnists Horoscopes Crosswords & Games Sports Odds Podcasts Careers

Email Newsletters Official Store Home Delivery Tips

Switch between CA and NY editions here.

New York is overdoing it with a constant barrage of lottery ads

See more of our coverage in your search results.

The recent New York state budget negotiations focused on how Gov. Hochul could throw a financial lifeline to New York Mayor Mamdani, as they sought to balance the city budget without reducing it. The headline result was authorization for the “pied-à-terre” tax on high-value second homes in the city — which is likely to yield just a few hundred million dollars toward the city’s $124  billion budget, risking private investors pulling out of the  city.

But what if there were a way to reduce state spending by hundreds of millions and, in the process, protect the financial and mental health of New Yorkers? In fact, there is such an option: putting a halt to the nation’s highest level spending on state lottery advertising.

As the slick new TV “Can You Imagine?” campaign — shot in multiple locations by a prominent filmmaker — reflects, the state Gaming Commission is on track to spend a stunning $388 million between 2022 and 2027 on just one ad agency media contract (McCann New York), having contracted for $434 million for 2020 alone with the same agency.

It turns out the lottery is a full  employment program for Madison Avenue.

A mayor who is truly........

© New York Post