impact - February 2022
State Increases Investment in CDFIs, Echoing CUF’s RecommendationNew York State will allocate $150 million to CDFIs to boost immigrant- and minority-owned businesses, reflecting a key recommendation from CUF's December 2021 report, No Small Relief: Strengthening NYC’s Most Vulnerable Small Businesses.
Commentary/Op-Ed - February 2022
Eight Steps Mayor Adams Should Take to Expand and Improve Workforce DevelopmentIn this Crain's New York Business op-ed, CUF Editorial and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin outlines eight steps the Adams administration should take to make the investments and policy changes needed to help New Yorkers reenter the workforce while building ladders to economic mobility.
Commentary/Op-Ed - February 2022
New York City’s economic recovery should be top priorityIn this City & State op-ed, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher argue five ways the city’s new administration can help boost economic recovery at a time with rising inflation, fewer jobs than before the pandemic, and a shift to remote work.
Report - January 2022
Reengaging Adult Learners to Complete College Degrees: Learning From TennesseeThe second edition of Economic Opportunity Lab, CUF's series spotlighting innovative policies from other cities and states that are helping to create a more inclusive economy, profiles the Tennessee Reconnect program. The program could provide NYC with a framework to help thousands of adult learners earn a credential.
Report - January 2022
Supporting CUNY’s 79,000 Part-Time StudentsNearly 79,000 undergraduate students attend the City University of New York (CUNY) on a part-time basis, but although these part-time students cope with the same economic challenges as other CUNY students, they have long been effectively shut out of New York State’s tuition assistance programs. It is past time for New York’s policymakers to step up and adapt the state’s financial aid system to the needs of today’s students.
Data - December 2021
State of the Chains, 2021Our fourteenth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City finds a slow rebound of chain stores across the five boroughs, following the most challenging year on record. This year chain stores broke a three-year streak of net losses, increasing locations by 2.7 percent. But this year’s bounce back—largely powered by the reopening of 260 stores that had shuttered in 2020—still leaves the city well short of pre-pandemic levels.