The upgrade on New York City, N.Y.'s debt reflects: * Improved financial performance. The city has produced recent budget surpluses, demonstrated willingness to curtail expenditure growth, and reduced the out-year gaps. In addition, the city has started to experience an increase in property tax revenues and has limited its use of nonrecurring revenues. Although the adopted fiscal 1999 budget increases out-year budget gaps compared with the January preliminary budget, the gaps have been significantly reduced -- the gap in the fourth year of the 1996 plan was over $5 billion, and the gap in the fourth year of this year's plan is close to $2 billion. The revised rating anticipates that the city will continue to progress toward balancing ongoing
