Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2015
Tap Reform: Part-Time College Students Need Financial Aid TooIn this op-ed in City & State , CUF researcher Christian González-Rivera argues that while Governor Cuomo has put education at the forefront of his Opportunity Agenda, his plan is missing a door to opportunity for the large and growing number of part-time college students in New York who struggle to finish their degree with almost no access to financial aid.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2014
Libraries of the FutureIn this op-ed in City & State, CUF’s Jonathan Bowles and Jeanette Estima highlight some of the visionary ideas presented by design teams at our December 4th conference to re-imagine and rethink New York City’s branch libraries.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2014
Tap Into Part-Time StudentsIn this op-ed in Albany's Times Union, the Center’s Christian González-Rivera and Jonathan Bowles argue that at a time when a postsecondary credential is more critical than ever for economic success, public officials should modify the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) to allow more grants to go to part-time students. Doing so would benefit tens of thousands of poor and working poor students, who are now effectively barred from financial aid because of their part-time enrollment.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2014
Green Light for Career Pathways in New York CityFollowing the report released by the Jobs for New Yorkers Task Force last month, the Center’s Tom Hilliard offers four recommendations to help the de Blasio administration make lasting cultural changes toward a career-focused workforce system and succeed in fulfilling the bold vision laid out in the report.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2014
Fulfilling the Promise of the Jobs for New Yorkers Task ForceCUF workforce fellow David Jason Fischer calls the final report by the Jobs for New Yorkers Task Force the “most ambitious workforce reform effort ever undertaken by an American city,” and in this commentary, he provides his own observations and recommendations for how the city can fully capitalize on the possibilities of this moment for positive change.
Commentary/Op-Ed - November 2014
De Blasio’s time to lead on librariesIn this op-ed in the New York Daily News, the Center’s David Giles argues that the de Blasio administration should commit to a 10-year capital plan to address the library systems’ $1.1 billion in pressing capital needs and re-invigorate the city’s long-neglected branches.
Commentary/Op-Ed - November 2014
A New Day at HRAThough the Human Resources Administration places more New Yorkers into jobs than any other city agency, providing clients with the support they need to find long-term employment has not been a priority for nearly 20 years. As new Commissioner Steven Banks prepares to take the agency in a new direction, CUF workforce fellow David Fischer outlines three principles for success.
Commentary/Op-Ed - October 2014
City Must Act to Close MTA Funding GapIn this op-ed in the Gotham Gazette, the Center’s Adam Forman argues that with almost half of the MTA’s five year capital budget still unfunded, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council should not only put pressure on Albany, but also allocate more city dollars in order to close the $15.2 billion funding gap as the city’s direct contribution to MTA has fallen from $950 million in 1989 to less than half of that in 2013.
Commentary/Op-Ed - September 2014
Fostering Better OutcomesMayor de Blasio is signing important legislation to find out and publicly report how foster youth fare in adulthood. But the city also needs to commit to acting on what it learns.
Commentary/Op-Ed - July 2014
Gotham Gazette: Desperately Needed Infrastructure Improvements Must Be Given Dedicated FundingIn this op-ed in Gotham Gazette, the Center’s Adam Forman argues that while dedicating part of the recent $4 billion settlement between New York State and BNP Paribas for infrastructure projects makes a world of sense, it will not be sufficient to tackling the city’s massive infrastructure needs. He urges to identify new dedicated revenue streams and ensure that existing revenue streams are no longer raided for other purposes.
Commentary/Op-Ed - July 2014
The Federal Workforce Overhaul: Good News for New York City?After more than a decade of inaction, Congress has finally passed a new federal workforce law. In this July 2014 commentary, CUF senior fellow David Jason Fischer explains why the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act bodes well for New York City.
Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2014
8 Ideas for Improving and Expanding NYC’s Workforce Development SystemIn this commentary, Center senior fellow David Jason Fischer lays out a number of specific steps that Mayor de Blasio should take to create a more effective workforce development system, from appointing a workforce czar to shifting the focus from job placements to skills building, job retention and career advancement.
Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2014
Rebuild NYC, create good jobsIn this New York Daily News op-ed, the Center's Jonathan Bowles and Adam Forman write that to succeed in tackling income inequality, one promising option for Mayor de Blasio is a public works program to modernize New York City’s aging infrastructure.
Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2014
NYC’s Silent Infrastructure Challenge: Aging Public BuildingsWhen New Yorkers think about aging infrastructure, bridges, roads and pipes come to mind. But in this City Limits op-ed, the Center's Adam Forman notes that schools, hospitals, jails and other public buildings aren't getting any younger, either.
Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2014
New York Times Room for Debate: A Smoldering View of Broader ProblemsIn this Room for Debate essay in the New York Times, the Center's Jonathan Bowles argues that much of America’s essential infrastructure is well past its prime and in need of repair.
Commentary/Op-Ed - March 2014
TIME: New York City Is CrumblingIn this op-ed for TIME, the Center's Adam Forman writes that while tragedies are rare, the city's aging infrastructure is responsible for countless disruptions and malfunctions. Billions will need to be spent—but the price of inaction is worse.
Commentary/Op-Ed - February 2014
State of the City: A Promising New NYC Human Capital Agenda from Mayor de BlasioIn this February 2014 commentary, Center senior fellow David Jason Fischer applauds Mayor de Blasio for pledging a new focus on job training and skills building in his State of the City address.
Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2014
Strengthening NYC’s Community Colleges is Key to Restoring the Middle Class DreamIn this January 2014 commentary, the Center’s Tom Hilliard argues that the de Blasio administration could tackle income inequality and make a huge difference in the economic opportunities available to New Yorkers by strengthening the city’s community colleges.
Commentary/Op-Ed - January 2014
Op-ed: What Mayor de Blasio can do to increase middle-class jobs, income equalityIn an op-ed for the Daily News, the Center's Jonathan Bowles laments that the pathway to the middle class in New York City is now all but closed off for countless New Yorkers. While acknowledging that the city's soaring cost of living is a problem, he argues that the bigger challenge is that New York's economy seems less and less capable of producing jobs that pay enough to support a middle-class lifestyle in such a high-cost city.
Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2013
A More Accountable Workforce Development SystemAn important new state law gives workforce development agencies and community colleges access to data allowing them to track the outcomes of their graduates, but more could be done to take advantage of this data to create a more effective human capital system.
