What’s the deal? On August 23, city and state leaders officially confirmed reports that they had reached a deal to bring a $2 billion headquarters for Goldman Sachs to Lower Manhattan. But more than two weeks after the news was first reported in the press, New Yorkers are still waiting for the official word on how much the deal will cost taxpayers. They will probably find out today, only days ahead of a public hearing on the matter.

Undeterred by the lack of an official accounting, the staff at Good Jobs New York, watchdog group, has pieced together an estimate from press releases and news reports. Various subsidies and tax exemptions, not to mention cash grants, could benefit Goldman to the tune of almost $500 million over the life of the Liberty Bonds that will finance much of the construction.

The Liberty Development Corporation, which oversees the Liberty Bond program, quietly announced it will hold a public hearing on the project September 7. But only now will it be releasing documents that will finally enable New Yorkers to learn how much the deal will cost them. The papers’ keepers deserve at least some credit for making them public at all, since it isn’t clear that the law requires a release. What New Yorkers will be able to do with the information at the hearing is unclear, since the corporation’s board reportedly already approved the deal August 15. But in the Big Apple, even knowing what the taxpayers are being charged is progress.