Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

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  Impact - December 2025

  “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 - 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.
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  Report - October 2025

  Preparing Every NYC Student for an AI-Powered Future

  As AI reshapes New York's economy, city leaders will need to prepare more young New Yorkers for an AI-powered workforce. To accomplish this, the city will need to train thousands of future teachers to integrate digital and computational literacy into their curriculum.
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  Report - September 2025

  Sustaining Long Island’s Creative Spark

  Few factors have contributed more to Long Island’s economic vitality over the past decade than growth of its vibrant arts and culture sector. Local and state policymakers should address the challenges Long Island's artists and arts organizations face, in order to strengthen communities, retain young people and families, and support local businesses.
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  Report - August 2025

  The Park Queens Deserves

  Flushing Meadows Corona Park is arguably New York City’s most underappreciated important park, even though it is the city's fourth most visited park and the only available expansive green space for hundreds of thousands of Queens residents. The Center for an Urban Future shares 20 ideas for realizing the park's full potential.