Report - December 2025
NYC’s Safety Net on the BrinkThis report finds that the federal actions taken over the past year—from the massive cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to an array of executive orders—present the biggest threat in a generation to NYC's social service nonprofits and the millions of New Yorkers who rely on them.
Report - October 2025
Preparing Every NYC Student for an AI-Powered FutureAs AI reshapes New York's economy, city leaders will need to prepare more young New Yorkers for an AI-powered workforce. To accomplish this, the city will need to train thousands of future teachers to integrate digital and computational literacy into their curriculum.
Report - September 2025
Sustaining Long Island’s Creative SparkFew factors have contributed more to Long Island’s economic vitality over the past decade than growth of its vibrant arts and culture sector. Local and state policymakers should address the challenges Long Island's artists and arts organizations face, in order to strengthen communities, retain young people and families, and support local businesses.
Report - August 2025
The Park Queens DeservesFlushing Meadows Corona Park is arguably New York City’s most underappreciated important park, even though it is the city's fourth most visited park and the only available expansive green space for hundreds of thousands of Queens residents. The Center for an Urban Future shares 20 ideas for realizing the park's full potential.
Report - August 2025
The Emerging Financial Security Crisis Facing Long Island’s Older AdultsLong Island is now home to more older adults than ever, but new data reveals that an alarming number these older Long Islanders are struggling with serious financial insecurity challenges.
Report - August 2025
Closing New York State’s Computing Education GapsNew York is making big bets on AI and the tech economy, but the state is falling well behind other states in preparing students with the foundational computing skills needed to thrive in these industries. This report outlines three key actions for state leaders to accelerate computing education across public K–12 schools.
Report - July 2025
5 Ideas to Advance Economic Mobility in NYC Amid Harmful Federal PoliciesThe first half of 2025 has brought an unprecedented wave of federal attacks on anti-poverty programs—threatening the safety net that millions of New Yorkers rely on and undercutting the city’s efforts to expand economic mobility. This report offers five actionable policy ideas for how New York City can lead in this environment, as a part of CUF's second annual NYC Economic Opportunity Summit.
Report - July 2025
Understanding and Overcoming the Bronx Digital DivideConsistent access to a computer and high-speed internet are essential to everyday life in New York, and in the Bronx, tens of thousands of residents remain cut off from these basic tools of modern life. Despite important investments in broadband infrastructure and digital skills programs, the gap has only grown wider between the Bronx and other boroughs in the areas of broadband affordability and adoption, device access, and digital literacy.
Report - May 2025
Sustaining NYC’s Tech EdgeNew York City's tech sector used to be celebrated for adding a bit of much-needed diversification to the city’s finance-heavy economy. Now tech is the engine driving the city’s economy forward, and is New York’s largest and most dependable source of new middle- and high-wage jobs.
Report - April 2025
Expanding Concession Opportunities in NYC’s ParksA modest expansion of parks concessions could provide a much-needed source of new dedicated revenue for New York's parks at a time when city funding has failed to keep pace with their growing maintenance needs. Today, there are surprisingly few restaurants, cafes, and other destination-worthy concessions in parks, but where they do exist, they invariably enhance the experience of parkgoers.
Report - March 2025
5 Ideas for Retaining NYC’s Young FamiliesNew York’s enduring appeal to young adults remains one of the city’s greatest strengths—and in today’s talent-based economy, it presents a massive opportunity to set the city up for years of future economic success. But to fully capitalize on this opportunity, city policymakers need to take concrete steps to make sure New York can do far better in holding onto young people as they age into their thirties and start families.
Report - March 2025
New York City’s Green Economy OpportunityA flourishing green economy may be the best chance in a generation to expand access to well-paying career opportunities, especially for New Yorkers of color and individuals from low-income communities. While there has been job growth in several parts of the green economy in recent years, our research suggests that New York City’s green economy is not yet close to fully charged.
Report - February 2025
The Emerging Financial Security Crisis Facing Older Adults Across New York StateOver the past decade, the number of older New Yorkers living in poverty has surged nearly 50 percent, nearly half of the state’s older adults report having no retirement income, and hundreds of thousands lack access to Social Security benefits. This report examines the alarming financial challenges facing New York’s rapidly growing older population and outlines urgent policy solutions to address this crisis.
Report - January 2025
Enacting a Ticket Surcharge to Strengthen New York City’s ParksNew York City’s parks badly need an infusion of funds—and a more reliable mechanism for paying for their growing maintenance needs. One option worth considering is implementing a modest surcharge on tickets sold at the city’s major stadiums, arenas, and concert venues, with the revenue dedicated exclusively to park maintenance. The report concludes that several actions are needed to implement this.
Report - January 2025
15 Policy Ideas for NYC to Start 2025As we start 2025, the Center for an Urban Future is offering up fifteen policy ideas that CUF wrote about in 2024 that we think are worth considering at a time when New York needs good local ideas more than ever, from closing educational and workforce disparities to tackling the affordable housing crisis and bolstering small businesses.
Report - December 2024
State of the Chains, 2024Our seventeenth annual ranking of over 450 national retailers in New York City finds a 1.3 percent decrease in chain stores across the five boroughs over the past year. While a wide range of retailers have been closing stores, the nation’s largest retailers are struggling the most.
Report - November 2024
Helping NYC’s Low-Income Adult Learners Succeed at CUNYNearly one-quarter of all degree-seeking undergraduate students at CUNY are over age 25, but too many of these adult learners never get to the college finish line. This report makes the case for new city and state supports that are specifically tailored to the needs of adult learners, ensuring that far more of these students succeed in earning a credential.
Report - November 2024
Maximizing NYC’s AI OpportunityTo build a stronger economy for the long term, New York will need to capture a significant share of the growth expected in a range of emerging tech fields—with none more important than artificial intelligence. The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) proposes five policy ideas for how New York City can seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow NYC's AI economy and help tackle some of New York’s biggest challenges.
Report - July 2024
5 Ideas to Expand Economic Mobility in New York CityThe path out of poverty and into economic security in New York has gotten more difficult in recent decades. The Center for an Urban Future (CUF) lays out five policy ideas that city leaders can implement over the next year to expand pathways into the middle class as a part of CUF's first ever economic opportunity summit.
Report - May 2024
Solving the Staffing Crisis Facing NYC’s Human Services OrganizationsHuman services nonprofit organizations are critical to New York City’s functioning and well-being, delivering the lion’s share of safety net services to vulnerable New Yorkers. The sector also faces a staffing crisis that directly threatens its ability to deliver these much-needed services. The average human services nonprofit has more than 15 percent of its positions vacant, as well as unsustainably high levels of staff turnover.
