Testimony - April 2016
Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in New York CityIn this testimony before NYC Council’s Committee on Economic Development, CUF’s Jonathan Bowles presents several recommendations from our Breaking Through report to support women entrepreneurs and the growth of women-owned businesses in New York City.
Report - April 2016
A City of Immigrant Workers: Building a Workforce Strategy to Support All New YorkersImmigrants make up nearly half of New York City’s labor force but face significant challenges when it comes to accessing decent paying jobs and connecting to city-sponsored workforce development programs. With Career Pathways, Mayor de Blasio’s ambitious new approach to workforce development, the administration has an important opportunity to better incorporate the city’s immigrant workers into its workforce development strategy.
Commentary/Op-Ed - April 2016
Closing the NYCHA Funding GapIn this City & State op-ed, Senior Researcher Adam Forman urges Governor Cuomo and state legislators to help alleviate NYCHA’s $17 billion funding gap and ensure that state funds are dedicated to its most important long-term needs, like the Authority’s aging and decaying building facades and roofs.
Data - March 2016
Library Times Are A-Changin’Our second annual assessment of library hours in New York shows that 40 percent more branch libraries in NYC are open at least six days a week than this time last year. But while city libraries are open an average of 4 hours more per week than a year ago, they still lag behind many of the largest library systems in the state and nation in hours of operation.
Data - March 2016
Fast City, Slow CommuteNew Yorkers are efficient, direct and fast moving. Their commutes: anything but. In this data analysis, we examine New Yorkers’ commutes by neighborhood and across industries.
Report - March 2016
Breaking ThroughWomen entrepreneurs of all ages, races and ethnicities are having an increasingly large impact on New York City’s economy. But even as the number of female-owned firms is soaring in every borough, the city has only begun to harness the full potential of women entrepreneurs.
Data - March 2016
Women-Owned Businesses in the Nation’s 25 Largest CitiesThis index provides data on women-owned businesses in each of the nation’s 25 largest cities, including the overall number of women-owned firms, the growth rate for women-owned businesses and male-owned businesses, and average revenues per women-owned business.
Data - March 2016
Data from Breaking ThroughCharts and tables from our 2016 Breaking Through study. The report found that though women entrepreneurs of all ages, races and ethnicities are having an increasingly large impact on New York City’s economy, the city has only begun to harness the full potential of women entrepreneurs.
Testimony - March 2016
3 Ways to Support NYC’s Aging ImmigrantsIn this testimony before NYC Council’s Committee on Aging, CUF’s Christian González-Rivera presents three recommendations from our New Face of New York's Seniors report that the city should prioritize this budget cycle.
Commentary/Op-Ed - February 2016
Catapulting New Yorkers into the Middle Class, ASAPIn this City & State op-ed, CUF senior researcher Tom Hilliard argues that the upcoming expansion of CUNY ASAP to cover all students at Bronx Community College presents an opportunity to catapult thousands of New Yorkers into the middle class each year – but only if state and city policymakers commit to more fully supporting ASAP.
Commentary/Op-Ed - February 2016
The City’s Next Steps to Ensure Vibrant, Creative CommunitiesThe city’s new Building Community Capacity initiative aims to fortify small and midsized art organizations in communities outside of Manhattan. In this Gotham Gazette op-ed, CUF Senior Researcher Adam Forman shares several ideas for making the initiative a success – helping strengthen cultural organizations in the midst of neighborhood change.
Testimony - January 2016
A promising start for NYC’s new approach to workforce developmentIn this testimony before NYC Council’s Committees on Economic Development, Small Business and Civil Service & Labor, CUF’s Christian González-Rivera analyzes the first year of the Career Pathways initiative, the city’s new and comprehensive approach to workforce development.
Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2016
6 Ways the State Can Expand Economic Opportunity in 2016As Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature set priorities for 2016, they should put economic opportunity for New Yorkers at the top. CUF Senior Researchers Christian González-Rivera and Tom Hilliard offer six concrete and affordable ideas to build the skills of the New York workforce, boosting low-income workers and their employers.
Report - December 2015
State of the Chains, 2015Our eighth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City shows that growth in chain store locations across the city slowed considerably over the last year, with only Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens experiencing a net increase in the number of national retailers.
Testimony - December 2015
Addressing NYC’s Affordable Housing CrisisIn testimony submitted before the City Planning Commission, CUF's Jonathan Bowles argues in favor of Mayor de Blasio's affordable housing zoning amendments, saying that the shortage of affordable housing is a threat to the city’s continued economic growth and a barrier to elevating low-income New Yorkers into the middle class.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2015
Why I support the plan to redevelop the Brooklyn Heights LibraryDespite the essential services the city’s public libraries provide to residents across NYC, their physical infrastructure is in trouble. In this City & State op-ed, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles highlights the Brooklyn Public Library’s innovative approach to addressing its crumbling infrastructure.
Data - November 2015
Manufacturing in NYC: A SnapshotThis data analysis, the inaugural publication of the Center for an Urban Future’s Middle Class Jobs Project, provides a new level of detail about New York City’s manufacturing sector. It reveals that the city has gained nearly 1,000 manufacturing jobs since 2011, reversing a long decline, and documents which manufacturing subsectors in the five boroughs are growing the fastest.
Commentary/Op-Ed - November 2015
Open up schools to priced-out artists: A resource that’s sitting underutilizedIn this Daily News op-ed, CUF Senior Researcher Adam Forman advocates for opening up underutilized spaces in public schools and churches to New York City artists. With leadership and collaboration between government agencies, philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, he argues that these spaces would allow New York City’s creative community to continue to create and thrive in the city.
Data - October 2015
Creative New York, At A GlanceFrom museums to film studios, dance companies to design firms, the creative sector is one of New York City’s most important economic assets. Using data from CUF's 2015 Creative New York report, this infographic shows the incredible growth, as well as the ongoing challenges of the city’s creative industries.
Testimony - September 2015
A New Approach to Funding Library ImprovementsWith the city’s public libraries facing a maintenance crisis, CUF executive director Jonathan Bowles says that policymakers should be open to innovative funding approaches. In testimony before the City Planning Commission, he argues in favor of a proposal to build a modern new branch library in Brooklyn Heights as part of a larger residential development. Under the proposal, the developer would also contribute around $50 million towards library improvements at branches across Brooklyn.
