Event - February 2014
Video: Taking NYC’s Design Week to the Next LevelCheck out the video from our February 12, 2014 forum examining what can be done to improve and build on NYC’s first-ever design week. NYCxDESIGN, which debuted last May, was a big hit. But as New York moves forward with preparations for the second edition of its design festival this spring, a number of distinguished panelists weighed in on how to make it even better.
Event - January 2014
Video: Platforms for MobilityNew York State's 35 community colleges are increasingly vital to the state's economy and more critical than ever to individuals' economic mobility. On January 10, 2014, the Center for an Urban Future held a symposium in Albany that focused on how New York can harness the full potential of its community colleges and what can be done to ensure that more of those who enroll in the state’s community colleges actually graduate.
Event - October 2013
Video: The New Face of New York’s Seniors ForumOn October 15, 2013, the Center for an Urban Future held a conference on planning for New York City's rapidly aging immigrant population. With 430,000 foreign born residents over the age of 65, New York has by far the largest immigrant senior population of any U.S. city. This symposium delved into how New York should plan for the aging of its immigrant population, with panelists sharing solutions they have implemented to serve older immigrants. It also fleshed out what strategies government agencies, nonprofit organizations and immigrant leaders can develop to ensure that New York is not only a great place for immigrants but also a great place for immigrants to grow old.
Event - June 2013
Video: Innovation and the City - Cities as the Nation’s Drivers of Policy InnovationIn June 2013, the Center for an Urban Future and NYU Wagner hosted a forum featuring prominent urban experts and policymakers to discuss why cities from New York to Seattle have recently emerged as the primary laboratories for government innovation and experimentation, what mayors are doing to unleash innovative ideas within their administrations, how to make new policy initiatives scalable, what policy areas could still benefit from major policy innovations and whether there are downsides to the current focus on policy innovations.
Event - March 2013
Video: Opportunity InstitutionsOn March 11, 2013, the Center for an Urban Future held a conference on how public libraries are addressing NYC’s critical human capital challenges. The symposium aimed to spark a discussion among policymakers, educators, social services practitioners, community advocates and business leaders about the role that New York’s public libraries are playing in addressing the city’s skills gap and other key human capital challenges and what more libraries might be capable of doing in the future.
Event - January 2013
Video: Is it Time to Say Goodbye to the GED®?New York State is on the verge of replacing the familiar GED® with the nation's first alternative high school equivalency exam. Join the Center for an Urban Future and the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy at a high-profile symposium in Albany to explore the big questions about the Regents' ambitious plan.
Event - March 2012
Video: Improving Employment Outcomes for Young People Aging Out of NYC’s Foster Care SystemAs many as half of the young people who age out of New York City's foster care system each year fail to obtain and hold onto jobs. This failure to connect—and stay connected—to the world of work is one of the key reasons why an alarmingly high number of former foster youth end up incarcerated, in homeless shelters or on public assistance. This conference aimed to draw attention to this often-neglected issue and spark a broader discussion among policymakers, advocates and stakeholders about the challenges that foster youth in NYC face in accessing jobs after they age out of the system and how to develop achievable policy recommendations to address these problems.
Event - September 2011
Reforming New York’s GED SystemWhile there is widespread support in New York State and City for raising GED pass rates and increasing the number of people who are well-prepared to take the test, the means by which we achieve these improvements is disputed among officials, policymakers, program operators and academics. This panel will bring together leading state and city education officials with policy experts and community-based practitioners to discuss which GED reforms make the most sense and how to achieve them in practice. The panelists will examine which programs are models that could be built upon, anticipated changes to the GED test, whether New York should charge a fee for test takers, the benefits and costs of the official practice test, availability and quality of preparatory instruction, and how to ensure that more GED attainers go on to college.
Event - September 2011
Do You Get What You Pay For? Financial Incentives in Public PolicyDuring these days of economic distress and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to understand which strategies are most effective in alleviating poverty and improving the lives of low-income people. Please join us for a half-day conference that will discuss one of the most promising—and controversial—antipoverty strategies: financial incentives in health and social policy.
Event - March 2011
Video: Restarting the Economy: Unlocking the Growth Potential of Small BusinessesWith so many Americans now unemployed and the economy still struggling to get into a high gear, the country badly needs small businesses to work their magic. Small businesses created roughly two thirds of all new jobs in the United States over the past 15 years, but they are also the nation's turnaround specialists: Small firms almost single handedly sparked the economic recovery during the nation's two previous recessions. But this time, small firms have been struggling, too.
This conference will focus on what the private and public sectors can do to help more of the nation's small businesses expand and create jobsand serve as a catalyst for economic growth. With a panel featuring some of the nation's leading thinkers about strategies for small business growth, the event will discuss everything from how to help more small businesses export their products and services and how to get more small firms to become suppliers to the nation's largest corporations to how to address the financing gaps that inhibit so many small businesses from growing to the next level.
Event - September 2010
Conference - Time to be CreativeOn September 20, 2010, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Center organized a conference which brought influential leaders from New York City's arts and real estate communities to discuss whether the real estate downturn provides a unique opportunity to address the serious space needs facing New York City artists, arts groups and creative entrepreneurs. Panelists included Seth Pinsky, Mary Ann Tighe, Elizabeth Streb, Sam Miller, Eric Gural, and Rebecca Robertson.
Event - August 2009
New York’s Human Capital GapsThis summer, CUF and the Community Service Society held two conferences about the citys long-term human capital needs: one about the evolving needs of the citys business community and the other about current skills gaps facing large segments of the citys population. Speakers included Matthew Goldstein, Seth Pinsky, Herb Pardes, Kathy Wylde, Ester Fuchs, Saru Jayaraman and Lisette Nieves.
Event - July 2009
NYC’s Human Capital NeedsCUNY Chancellor Dr. Matthew Goldstein delivered a major address at this conference, which focused on the current and future human capital needs of New York City's business community. The full transcript of the conference, including Dr. Goldstein's remarks, is now available.
Event - November 2008
Should New York and Other Cities Look to Immigrant Entrepreneurs as a New Engine for Economic GrowthThe full transcript from the conference the Center co-sponsored with the Field Center for Entrepreneurship at Baruch College, which examined the impact immigrant entrepreneurs are having, the specific obstacles they face in starting and growing businesses and what policies local and national officials ought to undertake to support this under-appreciated part of the economy.
Event - May 2008
Harnessing Brooklyn’s Creative CapitalThe full transcript from the Center and BEDC's March 5 forum which examined the size and scope of the self-employed creative sector in Brooklyn, the unique challenges facing these professionals and public and private sector strategies for supporting this part of the borough's economy. Panelists included Scott Adkins, Pauline Barfield, Sara Horowitz, and Michael Kelly.
Event - November 2007
Developing New York’s New Workforce ConferenceThe full transcript from the conference the Center co-sponsored with the Business Council of New York State and SCAA, where business leaders, literacy experts and state officials agreed that expanding English-language instruction is increasingly important for the states economic competitiveness. Panelists included Manuel Rivera, NYS Deputy Secretary for Education; Kenneth Adams, president/CEO of The Business Council of New York State; and Chung-Wha Hong of The New York Immigration Coalition
Event - April 2006
Transcript of Creative New York ConferenceOn April 4th, the Center for an Urban Future, the City of New York, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Partnership for New York City co-sponsored Creative New York, a conference at the Museum of Modern Art which brought together more than 200 leaders from New York's creative communities and government to discuss how to keep New York City at the forefront of the world's creative economy.
Event - March 2006
A Future for Working New Yorkers: Ideas for the Next GovernorThe full transcript from the Center for an Urban Future and the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy's March 22nd forum on what state officials can do to restore the prospect of economic advancement for working poor families in New York. Panelists included former Rochester Mayor William A. Johnson, Jr., Jane Knitzer, Frank Mauro, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, and former State Senator John Dunne.
Event - November 2005
The Race for Mayor 2005: Of Politics and PolicyThe full transcript from the Center for an Urban Future's October 27, 2005 forum on major policy issues and their role in the 2005 mayoral campaign, co-sponsored with the Center for NYC Affairs and Regional Plan Association. Panelists included Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Clara Hemphill, Evelyn Hernández, Ronnie Lowenstein, Lee Miringoff, Hank Sheinkopf and Bob Yaro, with Andrew White and CUF Director Jonathan Bowles serving as moderators.
Event - November 2005
Restoring Economic Opportunity for New York City’s Working Poor FamiliesThe full transcript from the Center's October 6, 2005 forum on economic advancement for New York's working poor families, co-sponsored with the United Way of NYC. Panelists included Diane Baillargeon, Lois Blades-Rosado, CUF Project Director David Jason Fischer, David Dyssegaard Kallick, and Dale Peterson, with Rae Linefsky serving as moderator.
