Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

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  Commentary/Op-Ed - April 2024

  To Build a Greener New York City, Start With CUNY

  Meeting New York City’s ambitious climate goals will require a massive retrofit of its buildings, which make up almost 70 percent of the city’s carbon footprint. To begin, a major new initiative is needed to build a greener CUNY using incoming federal and state funding.
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  Report - March 2024

  Boosting Transfer Student Success at CUNY

  Thousands of New York City public high school graduates every year start at a City University of New York community college and then transfer to a four-year institution to obtain a bachelor's degree. But the large majority of CUNY students who intend to transfer and complete a credential fall short of doing so. Improvement is possible with a few strategic steps from CUNY and modest investments from city and state leaders.
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  Report - March 2024

  Big Ideas to Help NYC Thrive in the Post-Pandemic Economy

  New York has overcome the immediate economic tests of the pandemic, but the city still has to keep pace with a vastly changed landscape. Meeting this moment will require a seismic shift in how city officials approach economic development. This report offers five big, immediately actionable ideas that city policymakers can implement to make New York even stronger.
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  Report - March 2024

  50 Ideas for a Stronger and More Equitable Brooklyn

  In many ways, Brooklyn is a shining star of the city's post-pandemic recovery. Despite all its progress, Brooklyn has significant work to do to ensure all of its residents can fully participate in the borough’s growing prosperity. This report presents bold policy ideas from 50 exceptional Brooklynites for what city leaders can do to create a stronger, more equitable Brooklyn.
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  Report - February 2024

  50 Ideas for a Stronger and More Equitable Bronx

  It will be nearly impossible to create a more equitable economy in New York without putting the Bronx at the forefront. This report presents bold policy ideas from 50 exceptional Bronxites for what city leaders can do to create a stronger, more equitable Bronx.
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  Report - January 2024

  Paying for the Growing Needs of NYC’s Parks: 20 Fresh Ideas to Fund Parks and Open Spaces

  The cities that will prosper in the years ahead are those that boast an exceptional quality of life, and great open spaces are essential to that goal. Yet there is virtually no agreement on how to pay for parks' growing maintenance and infrastructure needs, while investing in new parks and open spaces in the places they’re needed the most. This report puts forth 20 concrete and achievable ideas to do just that.
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  Report - December 2023

  State of the Chains, 2023

  Our sixteenth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City finds a 3.1 percent downtick in chain stores across the five boroughs over the past year. This is the second-largest single-year decline in chain stores since the report began in 2008, and breaks a two-year streak of modest recovery after the unprecedented plunge of 2020.