Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2024
Job training sector needs funding to help asylum seekers prepare for workforceIn this Times Union op-ed, Jonathan Bowles argues that to prepare asylum seekers for independence, more investments in English classes, job training programs, and immigrant-serving workforce development providers will help these newcomers prepare to enter the workforce and become productive New Yorkers.
Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2024
To build a stronger middle class, boost paid internships for CUNY studentsIn this Crain’s New York Business op-ed, Jonathan Bowles and Winston Fisher urge New York City leaders to harness CUNY as an engine of economic mobility by ensuring that far more CUNY students have access to paid internships during their college careers.
Report - January 2024
Paying for the Growing Needs of NYC’s Parks: 20 Fresh Ideas to Fund Parks and Open SpacesThe 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.
Report - December 2023
State of the Chains, 2023Our 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.
Testimony - November 2023
Supercharging CUNY Reconnect to Support Returning StudentsIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Higher Education, CUF Senior Fellow John Surico, on behalf of CUF Policy Director Eli Dvorkin, makes the case to further support the CUNY Reconnect program to help ensure that far more returning students succeed the second time around in postsecondary education.
Testimony - November 2023
Strengthening New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)In this testimony before the NYS Assembly Higher Education Committee, CUF Researcher Melissa Lent, on behalf of CUF Policy Director Eli Dvorkin, outlines three specific recommendations for New York State to further strengthen its Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) into one of the most effective and inclusive in the nation.
Report - October 2023
Boosting Tech Career Success for CUNY Students: Doubling Down on CUNY 2X TechThe CUNY 2X Tech initiative is expanding access to internships in tech firms, boosting employment outcomes for graduates, bringing industry expertise into classrooms, and helping to hire the faculty and advisors needed to support booming enrollment in tech degree programs. To make further progress toward a more equitable economy, city leaders should expand this initiative and maintain its momentum.
Commentary/Op-Ed - October 2023
To Get STEM Education to Every Student, Train All New Teachers in Computing EducationIn this The 74 op-ed, Council Member Rita Joseph and CUF's Eli Dvorkin argue that while the city has dramatically expanded the CS4All initiative, only a fraction of schools are meeting the program's participation and equity goals. They call for the city to invest in teacher training in computing education.
Commentary/Op-Ed - October 2023
To build a more vibrant economy across New York State, start with the artsIn this Democrat and Chronicle op-ed, CUF's Eli Dvorkin and Rochester Area Community Foundation's Simeon Banister lay out the opportunity for New York State to double down on supporting the arts, while making equitable arts investment a cornerstone of the state’s economic development strategy.
Commentary/Op-Ed - October 2023
The city should provide free MetroCards to CUNY studentsIn this amNewYork op-ed, CUF's Jonathan Bowles and Fisher Brothers' and Area15's Winston Fisher make the case to the mayor and the City Council that, to ensure a lot more New Yorkers can advance into the middle class, one of the most effective actions they can take is to give every CUNY community college student a free MetroCard.
Report - October 2023
Upstate’s Creative Spark: How the Arts Is Catalyzing Economic Vitality Across Upstate New YorkTo reverse decades of economic stagnation and population declines in upstate New York, policymakers should look to one powerful but often overlooked catalyst: the arts. By better integrating the arts into New York State economic development planning, policymakers have an opportunity to build on recent momentum and lay the groundwork for a more vibrant, sustainable, and equitable economy.
Report - September 2023
Preparing Today’s Asylum Seekers to Be Tomorrow’s WorkforceNew York City has long struggled to help many of the city’s 2.79 million working age foreign-born residents—including over 1.4 million who have limited English proficiency—get on the path to employment. Now, tens of thousands of new asylum seekers are settling here, and the city is further behind. These newest New Yorkers can be a major boon for the city's economy, but workforce development providers need new investment to support them.
Testimony - September 2023
Training NYC’s Future Teachers to Integrate Computing EducationIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committees on Technology and Education, CUF Data Researcher Rachel Neches and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin urge the Council to expand training programs for thousands more of the city's future teachers - at all grade levels and in every subject - to integrate the core concepts of computing education into their classrooms.
Report - September 2023
Expanding on CS4All: Training NYC’s Future Teachers to Integrate Computing EducationBy training thousands more future teachers to integrate computing education in the classroom, New York City can help far more New Yorkers access technology-powered careers. Fewer than 5 percent of CUNY teacher education graduates are equipped to teach computational thinking, preventing many of the most disadvantaged students from receiving the full benefits of the Computer Science for All (CS4All) initiative.
Commentary/Op-Ed - August 2023
Prioritize skills to fill city jobs: NYC should drop the need for a college degree for some postsIn this NY Daily News op-ed, CUF's Jonathan Bowles urges elected officials and Mayor Adams to take the lead in embracing a skills-first approach by removing degree requirements for hundreds or even thousands of city government jobs to open up well-paying public sector jobs to New Yorkers that have been shut out of these opportunities.
Report - August 2023
5 Steps for Expanding Skills-Based Hiring in New York CityThis new report finds that expanding skills-based hiring may be the greatest untapped opportunity to build a more equitable economy in New York City. It urges private sector companies and the City of New York to eliminate degree requirements for some jobs and instead hire based on an assessment of demonstrated skills, laying out five steps to get there.
Report - July 2023
Strengthening SYEP: Introducing NYC Youth to Higher-Wage Career PathsThe Summer Youth Employment Program is in many ways a resounding success, connecting over 100,000 young New Yorkers to paid work opportunities. But there is one critical area the program has fallen short—expanding employer partnerships in high-wage, growing industries that are shaping the city’s economic future.
Testimony - June 2023
Strengthening Immigrant- and Minority-Owned Small Businesses by Expanding Access to CDFIsIn this testimony before the NYC Council Committee on Small Business, CUF Data Researcher Rachel Neches and Policy Director Eli Dvorkin urge the Council to expand the reach of the city's Community Development Financial Institutions to strengthen immigrant- and minority-owned small businesses.
Report - June 2023
7 Ideas for Boosting NYC’s Newest BusinessesNeighborhoods across New York City—from the South Bronx to Sunset Park—are experiencing an unprecedented entrepreneurial renaissance. This brief explores insights from a Center for an Urban Future policy forum on what exactly city government officials should do to ensure that a significant share of the city's newest businesses prosper for many years to come.
Commentary/Op-Ed - June 2023
To Create a More Equitable Economy, Invest in CUNYIn this Gotham Gazette op-ed, CUF's Jonathan Bowles and Eli Dvorkin make the case for why policymakers should prioritize fully funding CUNY. Despite the essential role CUNY plays in creating economic opportunity for low-income New Yorkers of color, it stands to see a net budget cut of $140.9 million in FY 2024. Now is the time to invest in CUNY’s effectiveness, not limit its potential.
