At least that's according to the Milken Institute, which found ranked the NYC-area #85, up from #148 in 2007, on its list of "best performing cities." Per the Sun, the study looked at 5- and 1- year growth and found that booming construction helped NYC avoid "the slump...However, continued pressure on major financial institutions is now becoming apparent in the New York metro area; many firms in the financial sector and in support activities are......

While the United States' population grew almost 1% this year and is expected to top 303 million people at the end of 2007, New York State's population grew at less than one-tenth the rate, increasing only .08%. States in the Sunbelt, like Florida, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, experienced much faster population growth. A negative byproduct of the disparities between New York and the rest of the country is that after every Census, Congressional seats are......