Report - July 2023
Strengthening SYEP: Introducing NYC Youth to Higher-Wage Career PathsThe Summer Youth Employment Program is in many ways a resounding success, connecting over 100,000 young New Yorkers to paid work opportunities. But there is one critical area the program has fallen short—expanding employer partnerships in high-wage, growing industries that are shaping the city’s economic future.
Testimony - June 2023
Strengthening Immigrant- and Minority-Owned Small Businesses by Expanding Access to CDFIsIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Small Business, CUF Data Researcher Rachel Neches and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin urge the Council to expand the reach of the city's Community Development Financial Institutions to strengthen immigrant- and minority-owned small businesses.
Report - June 2023
7 Ideas for Boosting NYC’s Newest BusinessesNeighborhoods across New York City—from the South Bronx to Sunset Park—are experiencing an unprecedented entrepreneurial renaissance. This brief explores insights from a Center for an Urban Future policy forum on what exactly city government officials should do to ensure that a significant share of the city's newest businesses prosper for many years to come.
impact - June 2023
DOT Expands Micromobility to Queens, Echoing CUF RecommendationsThe city’s Department of Transportation announced that the successful e-scooter sharing program piloted in the Bronx will expand to eastern Queens. CUF's recent commentary on expanding micromobility in all five boroughs called for the expansion of the Bronx e-scooter pilot to less transit-rich neighborhoods in Queens.
Commentary/Op-Ed - June 2023
To Create a More Equitable Economy, Invest in CUNYIn this Gotham Gazette op-ed, CUF's Jonathan Bowles and Eli Dvorkin make the case for why policymakers should prioritize fully funding CUNY. Despite the essential role CUNY plays in creating economic opportunity for low-income New Yorkers of color, it stands to see a net budget cut of $140.9 million in FY 2024. Now is the time to invest in CUNY’s effectiveness, not limit its potential.
Report - June 2023
NYC’s Stalled Retail RecoveryRetail is one of New York City’s largest industry sectors, and home to an outsized share of the most accessible jobs. But the retail sector is lagging well behind the city’s overall jobs recovery and other face-to-face industries, including restaurants, that were hit hard during the pandemic, raising concerns about whether this vital and diverse part of the city’s economy will ever get back to its pre-pandemic employment level.
