Ari Hoffnung has been a leader in promoting transparency and civic engagement initiatives since he joined the Comptroller’s Office in 2010. He is the driving force behind Checkbook NYC, a website that empowers the public to keep an eye on more than $70 billion in annual government spending with detailed, up-to-date information about New York City’s revenues, expenditures, contracts, payroll, and budget, and was called the best of its kind by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Hoffnung also spearheaded The People’s Budget NYC, a crowd-sourcing website that offers taxpayers a platform to vote, discuss, and suggest new budget ideas.

Hoffnung currently serves as Comptroller Liu’s representative at the Office of Payroll Administration (OPA) and the Financial Services Agency (FISA), where he played an integral role in ending the runaway spending associated with the CityTime project. Hoffnung was also appointed to the newly formed NYC Technology Development Corporation which provides senior project management and other consulting services for the City’s most critical and complex information technology projects.

Prior to joining Comptroller Liu’s administration, Hoffnung served as Chief of Staff to then-City Councilman Simcha Felder, and was a Managing Director at Bear Stearns where he worked for more than a decade. Hoffnung holds an MBA in Finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Queens College. He resides in the Riverdale section of the Bronx with his wife, Annie, and their two children.