Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

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  Impact - January 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 - 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.
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  Report - December 2025

  The High Cost of Free Job Training in NYC

  This report urges city leaders to provide free childcare and a complimentary OMNY card for New Yorkers enrolled in career training programs. Coupling workforce development programs with these vital “wraparound supports” will address a key challenge: too many New Yorkers drop out of training programs due to everyday costs like childcare and transit fares.
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  Report - December 2025

  NYC’s Safety Net on the Brink

  This report finds that the federal actions taken over the past year—from the massive cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to an array of executive orders—present the biggest threat in a generation to NYC's social service nonprofits and the millions of New Yorkers who rely on them.