Report - January 2020
A Blueprint for Expanding & Improving Older Adult Services in New York CityThese 63 achievable policy recommendations from CUF's forthcoming report on older adult services in New York City form a blueprint for how city and state policymakers can meet the needs of New York’s fast-growing older adult population—in policy areas such as housing, financial security, social isolation, elder abuse, and transportation.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2019
Apprenticeships Can Help Expand Access to Tech Careers in NYCNew York City’s thriving tech sector has become a crucial source of middle-class jobs. But too few of those jobs are accessible to New Yorkers without a college degree and work experience, which means thousands are being left out of the boom. To help more residents access these powerful opportunities, New York will have to build much stronger pathways into tech employment—and tech apprenticeship should be part of the solution.
Report - December 2019
State of the Chains, 2019Our twelfth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City finds a year-over-year decrease in the number of chain store locations for the second consecutive year, and the largest overall decline since this study began.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2019
Op-Ed: NYC’s Creative Industries are the Future of Middle-wage JobsNYC's creative economy has seen record-setting job growth but gotten only modest support from city officials. In this Crain's op-ed, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher make the case that the creative industries should play a much larger role in the city's middle class jobs strategy.
Report - December 2019
Expanding Tech Apprenticeships in New York CityTech apprenticeships present a major opportunity for New York to expand pathways into well-paying technology careers, all while strengthening and diversifying the talent pipeline for the city's booming tech sector. New York can do more to greatly expand tech apprenticeships in the city and realize the promise of this powerful model for boosting economic mobility.
Testimony - November 2019
Preparing New York City’s Workforce for the Coming Impacts of AutomationIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Civil Service & Labor, CUF editorial and policy director Eli Dvorkin outlines the potential effects of automation on New York City's workforce, and offers policy solutions that can help the city get ahead of these powerful economic forces.
Testimony - November 2019
Fixing NYC Parks Capital Construction Process to Revitalize Aging ParksIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Parks and Recreation, CUF editorial and policy director Eli Dvorkin details the issues facing New York City's aging parks infrastructure and identifies key steps to improve the capital construction process for parks projects.
Insight - October 2019
The Creative Economy is a Key Source of Middle-Class JobsOn October 16th, the Center for an Urban Future hosted a policy symposium exploring how the creative industries have grown and become a key source of tens of thousands of middle-wage jobs. The expert panelists convened by CUF helped us identify key policy takeaways around what policymakers and other stakeholders can do to sustain the creative industries and ensure more New Yorkers from low-income backgrounds can access the good-paying jobs in the creative sector.
Testimony - October 2019
The Pivotal Impact of New York City’s Tourism EconomyIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Economic Development, CUF executive director Jonathan Bowles details the growing impact of tourism on the city’s economy and highlights the challenges to sustaining this key economic sector.
Commentary/Op-Ed - October 2019
Op-Ed: Securing the future of New York’s independent workersAcross the state, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are now working independently, subcontracting, or earning income in the gig economy. In this Times Union op-ed, CUF Editorial and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin and Winston C. Fisher argue that while the rise of independent work has clear benefits for New Yorkers and New York’s economy, it is also bringing a host of new challenges that could be addressed through a first-of-its-kind system of portable benefits.
Insight - September 2019
Statement on Mayor de Blasio’s proposal for a national robot taxOn September 6, Mayor de Blasio published an op-ed in "Wired" laying out his vision for a "robot tax." While we applaud the mayor's commitment to helping workers displaced in the transition to a more automated economy, what’s needed is a massive new investment in up-skilling and lifelong learning.
Commentary/Op-Ed - September 2019
Op-Ed: NYC, get ready for the robotsOur new op-ed in the Daily News makes the case for a bold new plan to prepare New York City's workforce for the coming wave of automation.
Report - August 2019
Caution Ahead: Five Years LaterIn this five-year update to our landmark report on New York City’s aging infrastructure, we find that the city has made record-level capital investments, but results have been mixed. Increased usage and new stresses from climate change make bringing the city's core infrastructure to a state of good repair all the more essential.
Insight - July 2019
Improving Career Outcomes for the City’s Foster Youth$10 million in New York City's 2020 fiscal budget will go towards providing the city’s roughly 8,400 foster youth with full-time life coaches from middle school through age 26, an important step to improving career outcomes for this vulnerable population. The Center for an Urban Future pointed out in our 2011 "Fostering Careers" report that an alarming share of young people who age out of the city’s foster care system are failing to obtain and hold on to jobs.
Commentary/Op-Ed - July 2019
Op-Ed: How libraries can help solve NYC’s next big Census problemOur new op-ed in the Gotham Gazette argues that New York City’s public libraries are uniquely positioned to help solve the city’s next big Census problem: the move to a digital Census.
Insight - July 2019
The Value of Non-Degree CredentialsCUF has previously urged CUNY to expand academic certificate programs as a way of helping more community college students get on the path to good-paying careers. A new national study bolsters the idea, finding that adults who earn certificates have higher lifetime earnings and employment levels than their peers with only a high school diploma.
Report - June 2019
Brooklyn’s Growing Innovation EconomyBrooklyn has emerged as one of the nation’s leaders in the innovation economy, driven by the borough’s growth in tech start-ups, creative companies, and next-generation manufacturers. This report provides a new level of data about the size and scope of Brooklyn’s innovation economy and highlights Brooklyn's competitive advantage in a part of the economy that is expected to grow significantly in the years ahead.
Commentary/Op-Ed - May 2019
NYC parks need more money, here’s how to raise itNew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council should commit to increasing the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation budget by $100 million this year. But to make sure this investment is sustainable for the long-term, the city needs to get creative about alternative sources of revenue. In this City and State op-ed, CUF Editorial Director Eli Dvorkin lays out new ideas for generating funding for parks.
Commentary/Op-Ed - April 2019
OP-ED: The Opportunity Ahead for the New CUNY ChancellorNo institution is better positioned than CUNY to help lower-income and first generation students earn a postsecondary credential and get on the path to a successful career. In this Gotham Gazette op-ed, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher argue that the incoming chancellor can seize this moment and help CUNY realize its potential as a launchpad into the middle class.
Event - April 2019
Rethinking Public Benefits for the Future of WorkOur forum examined what New York City policymakers can do to develop and implement the next generation of public benefits for the future of work, including portable benefits for independent contractors, lifetime training accounts to make upskilling affordable, new approaches to childcare and retirement, and other innovative programs designed to update the social safety net for the growing independent workforce.
