Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

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  Report - December 2024

  State of the Chains, 2024

  Our seventeenth annual ranking of over 450 national retailers in New York City finds a 1.3 percent decrease in chain stores across the five boroughs over the past year. While a wide range of retailers have been closing stores, the nation’s largest retailers are struggling the most.
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  Report - November 2024

  Helping NYC’s Low-Income Adult Learners Succeed at CUNY

  Nearly one-quarter of all degree-seeking undergraduate students at CUNY are over age 25, but too many of these adult learners never get to the college finish line. This report makes the case for new city and state supports that are specifically tailored to the needs of adult learners, ensuring that far more of these students succeed in earning a credential.
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  Data - November 2024

  It’s Time to Launch SUNY Reconnect

  New York State is home to 1.5 million working age adults who have already earned some college credits but have not completed a degree. State policymakers should launch an initiative, SUNY Reconnect, that can help adults in every corner of the state to re-enroll at SUNY, complete their degrees, and boost their chances at economic mobility.
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  Report - November 2024

  Maximizing NYC’s AI Opportunity

  To build a stronger economy for the long term, New York will need to capture a significant share of the growth expected in a range of emerging tech fields—with none more important than artificial intelligence. The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) proposes five policy ideas for how New York City can seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow NYC's AI economy and help tackle some of New York’s biggest challenges.
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  Commentary/Op-Ed - August 2024

  Making It Easier for New Yorkers to Care for Their Parks

  New Yorkers are using parks and open spaces more than ever, and the city can’t keep up with their growing needs. This commentary highlights why and how the city should make it easier for nonprofit organizations and community groups to help care for public parks and open spaces.
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  Report - July 2024

  5 Ideas to Expand Economic Mobility in New York City

  The path out of poverty and into economic security in New York has gotten more difficult in recent decades. The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) lays out five policy ideas that city leaders can implement over the next year to expand pathways into the middle class as a part of CUF's first ever economic opportunity summit.
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  Data - June 2024

  Expanding Access to Advertising Careers in NYC

  To make progress toward a more equitable economy in New York, it will be crucial to expand access to careers in several growing middle- and high-wage industries that employ alarmingly few New Yorkers of color. Advertising is one sector where progress is both needed and possible.
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  Report - May 2024

  Solving the Staffing Crisis Facing NYC’s Human Services Organizations

  Human services nonprofit organizations are critical to New York City’s functioning and well-being, delivering the lion’s share of safety net services to vulnerable New Yorkers. The sector also faces a staffing crisis that directly threatens its ability to deliver these much-needed services. The average human services nonprofit has more than 15 percent of its positions vacant, as well as unsustainably high levels of staff turnover.
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  Report - May 2024

  50 Ideas for a Stronger and More Equitable Queens

  Queens is the city’s largest gateway for immigrants, and is also arguably New York’s most important launchpad to the middle class. Yet, given rising rents, climate change, an aging population and other challenges, Queens has significant work to do to ensure all of its residents can fully participate in the borough’s prosperity. This report presents bold policy ideas from 50 Queens leaders for what city leaders can do to create a stronger, more equitable Queens.
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  Report - May 2024

  Closing NYC’s College Attainment Gap

  Most well-paying jobs in New York City today go to individuals with a postsecondary degree, and studies suggest that this will only accelerate in the decade ahead. But there are still glaring racial, ethnic, and geographic gaps in college attainment rates across New York City.