The numbers bandied about in the New York Daily News’s report on an uptick in lawsuits against the city (and especially the police department) in FY 2011 are a little hard to get one’s head around: Some $550 million paid out, a 35 percent jump in payouts by the NYPD, which cost $185.6 million all on their own. But one figure above all else helps put the figures in perspective for the average New Yorker: The city paid the equivalent of $70 for each person living here. That’s like a decent dinner out, with wine and dessert, for every man, woman and child in this city. In other words, a lot.
