Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

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  Report - March 2026

  Putting the “Rec” Back in NYC Parks & Recreation

  Recreation was once at the heart of NYC Parks, accounting for nearly a third of the agency’s budget. Today it receives just 5 percent—leaving staffing shortages, fewer programs, and aging facilities struggling to meet demand. With New Yorkers in poorer health—moving less and more isolated—it’s time for a rec revolution.
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  Impact - February 2026

  “The think tank quietly influencing NY’s top officials”

  Crain's New York Business recently published this in-depth profile of the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), titled “The think tank quietly influencing New York’s top officials.” The article noted that “CUF has hit its stride in recent years, managing to catch the attention of powerful city officials with its brand of pragmatic, hyper-specific ideas for improving economic mobility.”
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  Report - February 2026

  5 Revenue-Raising Ideas for NYC

  This report puts forward five concrete ideas to generate new recurring revenue for New York City. Taken together, the five ideas would raise more than $1.4 billion in new revenue each year, and would advance other critical policy goals at the same time.
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  Report - January 2026

  Integrating Artists into NYC’s Affordable Housing Strategy

  New York City can not survive as a global center for arts and culture if artists can not afford to live here. And yet the city has fallen behind the rest of the state—and much of the nation—when it comes to developing artist housing. This report proposes solutions for integrating artists into NYC's affordable housing strategy.
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  Report - January 2026

  15 Policy Ideas for NYC to Start 2026

  To start 2026, we offer up 15 policy ideas that CUF wrote about in 2025 that Mayor Mamdani and the City Council should consider implementing this year—on issues from expanding economic mobility and strengthening financial security for older adults to generating new revenues and cutting bureaucratic roadblocks that stifle progress.
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  Report - December 2025

  State of the Chains, 2025

  Our eighteenth annual ranking of over 500 national retailers in New York City finds a 1.3 percent continued decrease in chain stores across the five boroughs over the past year.
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  Report - December 2025

  Creative New York

  The creative sector—from performing arts organizations to design firms—is more critical than ever to New York City's economy. But mounting affordability challenges threaten its future.