Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.

• 
  

  Report - March 2023

  Playing New York City’s ACE Card

  Few student success programs nationally have been as effective as CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) initiative, which has grown to serve 25,000 community college students. CUNY has a promising program modeled on ASAP that is helping students at senior colleges complete their bachelor’s degrees on time: the Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE) program. But the ACE program has considerable room to grow.
• 
  

  Report - January 2023

  Keeping Pace with an Aging New York State

  New York State’s older adult population is booming, with more residents ages 65 and above—nearly 3.5 million—than the entire population of 21 states. An expanding share of the state’s older adults are immigrants and people of color. Alarmingly, older New Yorkers living below the poverty line increased by 37 percent over the past decade.
• 
  

  Report - January 2023

  Strengthening NYC’s Nonprofits by Reducing Administrative Burdens

  Government contract requirements are often unnecessarily complicated and inconsistent, forcing nonprofits to spend an exorbitant amount of time toiling over paperwork. Reducing these burdens could offer much-needed relief to the sector.
• 
  

  Report - January 2023

  New York’s Untapped Entrepreneurship Opportunity

  New York City policymakers have an enormous untapped opportunity to create a more equitable economy by increasing rates of entrepreneurship among New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents. Strengthening this vital pathway can enable the many public housing residents already engaged in side hustles and home-based ventures to grow their businesses and build wealth.
• 
  

  Report - December 2022

  Bolstering Minority- and Immigrant-Owned Businesses by Scaling Up CDFIs

  New city and state government policies and investments are needed to strengthen New York City’s minority- and immigrant-owned businesses. Few would have a greater impact than expanding the reach of the city's Community Development Financial Institutions.
• 
  

  Report - November 2022

  Harnessing CUNY as a Launchpad Into Tech Careers

  New Yorkers of color remain strikingly underrepresented among the city’s tech workforce. No institution is better positioned to help close this opportunity gap for tech careers, at scale, than the City University of New York (CUNY). However, fully capitalizing on CUNY’s remarkable potential to serve as the city’s largest and most equitable springboard into technology careers will require new action from city and state government, the city’s technology companies, and CUNY itself.