Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2010
Completing Coney’s ComebackIn this Off the CUF commentary, Jasper Goldman, David Gratt and Juan Rivero conclude that it will require more than just a new amusement operator to re-establish Coney Island as a thriving outdoor entertainment destination. The piece applauds the Bloomberg administration for recent steps taken to bolster Coney Island's amusement district, but calls on city officials to take a series of relatively minor actions over the next few months to address several of the entrenched problems that have long undermined the area's appeal.
Report - March 2010
An Action Agenda for ESOLThis concept paper written by the Center for an Urban Future and the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy includes eight recommendations for supporting and strengthening the state's English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs. The action agenda, which was endorsed by an unusual coalition of the state's leading business groups, immigrant advocates, literacy providers and workforce training professionals, calls on New York policymakers to guarantee level funding for state-run ESOL programs even in this difficult fiscal environment. It argues that supporting ESOL programs is increasingly important to New York's economic competitiveness since immigrants represent the fastest-growing part of the workforce in nearly every corner of the state.
Report - February 2010
Energizing New York’s Small BusinessesThis report reveals that only a fraction of the city's small businesses have taken steps to become energy efficient, a missed opportunity given that commercial electricity costs here are among the highest in the country and since even the smallest firms could save thousands of dollars by implementing efficiency measures. We detail why so few companies have taken advantage of conservation programs and recommend how to get more firms to take the plunge.
Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2010
Making the Most of ManhattanvilleIn this Off the CUF commentary, David Hochman writes that the battle over eminent domain should not be the final word on Columbia's planned expansion into West Harlem, arguing that local officials should now work to ensure that the university's new campus triggers additional economic development for New York and the community.
Report - January 2010
Closing the Skills GapThis report, jointly published by CUF and the Community Service Society, finds that New York City faces a human capital crisis that could threaten the city's long-term economic competitiveness while relegating countless residents to low-wage jobs. It shows that an alarming number of New Yorkers now lack the skills and educational credentials to compete in today's economy and warns that the problem will only get worse in the years ahead. The report calls for a comprehensive campaign to develop the skills of New York's population.
Report - December 2009
Low-Wage JobsThis edition of New York by the Numbers reveals that nearly a third of all adult workers in New York City are employed in low-wage jobs. While the percentage of low-wage workers is high across the city, the Bronx is in a league of its own, with 42 percent of the borough's workers in low-wage jobs.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2009
Immigrant Entrepreneurism: An Engine for Economic RecoveryIn this essay for the new book What's Next for New York City's Economy, published by the Drum Major Institute, CUF's Jonathan Bowles argues that New York's economic development officials should look to immigrant entrepreneurs to provide a key spark to the city's economic recovery.
Commentary/Op-Ed - November 2009
Community Colleges as a Pathway out of PovertyIn this guest commentary to Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, CUF's David Jason Fischer stresses the importance of boosting community college persistence and graduation rates, and notes several promising strategies toward this goal.
Testimony - October 2009
Translating New York’s Science and Technology Assets Into Economic ActivityAt an October 9th hearing held by the Governors Task Force on Diversifying the New York State Economy through Industry-Higher Education Partnerships, CUFs Jonathan Bowles testified about how to make New Yorks pre-eminent scientific research institutions engines of entrepreneurship and economic growth.
Commentary/Op-Ed - September 2009
Will Low-Skilled Workers Benefit from Economic Recovery?In this commentary for The Huffington Post, CUF's David Jason Fischer and Brandon Roberts of the Working Poor Families Project sound the warning that low-skilled workersalready bearing the brunt of the recessionmay find themselves left behind as an economic recovery takes hold.
Report - September 2009
Building New York City’s Innovation EconomyThis report finds that New York City's leading universities and scientific research centers have not become catalysts for entrepreneurship and local economic development the way similar institutions have in other regions. It argues that this is a huge missed opportunity for New York, given the need to diversify the economy and create new engines of job growth. The study details why New York is falling short, showing that university leaders have not done enough to support start-up ventures.
The report is accompanied by the city's first-ever "Innovation Index," a package of 49 charts and graphs that show where New York stands compared to other cities and regions on a broad range of indicators measuring both existing science and technology assets and the city's level of success at commercializing these assets.
Report - August 2009
Return of the ChainsOur second annual ranking of national retailers in New York City finds that over 30 percent of the retailers from last year's report actually expanded their presence in the city in the past year, despite the sour economy. Dunkin' Donuts tops our list for the second straight year, with a staggering 429 stores. The list includes a breakdown of 277 national retailers that have two or more stores in NYC, broken down by every borough and zip code.
Commentary/Op-Ed - July 2009
Job Training: Often Misunderstood But Too Important to DismissIn this commentary for The Huffington Post on behalf of the Working Poor Families Project, CUF's David Jason Fischer and the WPFP's Brandon Roberts examine some of the misperceptions and realities around job training in the United States today.
Report - July 2009
Six Months Later: What Has President Obama Done for New York City?A week before President Obama took office, the Center for an Urban Future published a report that laid out 51 specific recommendations for what the Obama administration and the 111th Congress could do to help New York City and other cities. Now, at the six month anniversary of President Obamas inauguration, we are taking a close look at which of these 51 recommendations have been achieved. Our conclusion: While the administration still has a long way to go to create a comprehensive national urban policy, it has already made an extraordinary amount of progress on issues that matter to New York and other cities.
Report - June 2009
Manhattan’s Declining Share of New York City JobsThis edition of New York by the Numbers shows that over the last 50 years, Manhattan has been gradually loosening its grip on the private sector jobs in New York City. In 1958, the borough accounted for 67.6 percent of all non-government jobs in the city. But by 2008 its share had fallen six percentage points to 61.6 percent. The other four boroughs, meanwhile, have experienced a slow but steady increase in their share of jobs.
Testimony - June 2009
Using Workforce Development As A Tool to Diversify the EconomyAt a June 23 New York City Council hearing on how workforce development can help diversify the local economy, CUF project director David Jason Fischer testified that officials must force alignment between job training programs and the city's economic development objectives and investments.
Report - June 2009
Record RecoveryThis new report concludes that the health IT sector is one of New York City's best bets for reigniting and diversifying the city's economy. It argues that with the right local economic development strategy, the federal government's unprecedented $19.2 billion investment in electronic health records could create thousands of long-term jobs in New York City and make the city a leading hub for the health IT sector.
Report - June 2009
More Help NeededIn 2007, the Center published a report which found that growing number of New York City teens were being turned away from the citys Summer Youth Employment Program as a result of federal funding cuts to the program. Last month, the Bloomberg administration announced that the city will use millions of dollars in federal stimulus money to pay for the summer jobs program. But as this update details, a significant shortfall remains.
Commentary/Op-Ed - May 2009
Q&A with Anthony Carnevale, Director, Georgetown University Center on Education and the WorkforceAs part of our series of Q&As with innovators, entrepreneurs and policy experts, the Center's David Jason Fischer interviews Anthony Carnevale, former chair of the National Commission on Employment Policy, about the changing labor market, the future of vocational education and the impact of the recession on New York City.
Report - April 2009
A LEEDer in Green Building?This edition of New York by the Numbers shows that the number of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified buildings in New York City trails that of many other big U.S. cities. When it comes to the number of LEED-certified new buildings in New York, the city is decisively middle-of-the-pack, behind Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Washington, DC and San Francisco.
