Report - November 2021
Branches to Recovery: Tapping the Power of NYC’s Public Libraries to Rebuild a More Equitable CityLibraries are already among the city’s largest and most trusted providers of programs and services aligned with New Yorkers’ greatest needs. With a clear citywide strategy and a new level of investment, their impact could be even greater.
Report - November 2021
Making Rezoning WorkThis report—a joint effort between the Center for an Urban Future and JobsFirstNYC—demonstrates the need to integrate a comprehensive workforce development strategy into future rezonings and offers a blueprint for how to do so.
Report - November 2021
The Growing Economic Impact of NYC’s Asian-Owned BusinessesA data analysis finds that Asian-owned businesses now account for nearly a quarter of all businesses in the city—a far greater share than their share of the city’s population—and drove a disproportionate share of the overall growth in businesses citywide.
Report - July 2021
RE:NEW YORK CITY250 Ideas from New Yorkers to Revive NYC's Economy, Spark Good Jobs, and Build a More Equitable City
Report - July 2021
Creative Comeback: Surveying NYC’s Cultural Ecosystem in the Wake of COVID-19Drawing from a survey of 643 community-based arts organizations conducted by Americans for the Arts, this report offers new insights into the severe damage done by the pandemic to the city’s arts ecosystem. Despite the remarkable resilience of artists and organizations, city leaders, including the next mayor, will have to take further action to stabilize the city’s cultural ecosystem and strengthen it in the future.
Report - June 2021
VIDEO - Opportunity Costs: Affording the True Costs of College in NYCThousands of NYC community college students drop out each year. A leading cause? Their struggle to afford a MetroCard, textbooks, technology, broadband, and other expenses beyond tuition. Check out CUF’s new report video to hear from students themselves and explore solutions to tackle these non-tuition financial barriers.
Report - June 2021
Opportunity Costs: Affording the True Costs of College in NYCEach year, thousands of CUNY community college students drop out without a degree. To help many more New Yorkers earn a college credential and access quality jobs, city and state leaders should focus on helping students overcome nontuition expenses like MetroCards, textbooks, technology, and childcare that add thousands to the cost of college and are a key factor in persistently low graduation rates.
Report - May 2021
Preparing New Yorkers for the Tech Jobs Driving NYC’s Pandemic EconomyDespite widespread job loss and economic turmoil due to the pandemic, demand for tech occupations has remained strong. In this report, CUF examines which roles are in demand and what it will take to get more New Yorkers access to the quality tech jobs fueling NYC's economic recovery.
Report - April 2021
Stretching New York City’s Capital DollarsInvesting in libraries, parks, and other social infrastructure will be essential to the city’s recovery, but inefficiencies that plague the capital construction process have led to unacceptable cost inflation. This report details how reforming this process could help the city potentially save hundreds of millions of dollars while enabling continued support for vital social infrastructure.
Report - April 2021
New York’s Safety Net in JeopardySince the start of the pandemic, NYC's human services nonprofits have stepped up to face the coronavirus crisis and meet new levels of demand for frontline services. But an alarming number of these nonprofits now are on the precipice of financial catastrophe—and their mounting fiscal problems have been compounded by city and state government.
Report - March 2021
Upskilling for an Equitable Recovery: Hardest-Hit New Yorkers Most Vulnerable to AutomationMany of the New Yorkers who have been hit hardest by job losses in recent months are also the workers most vulnerable to automation. New York City's next mayor should create an automation preparation plan to ensure an inclusive economic recovery.
Report - March 2021
First Out, Last Back: The Economic Impact of the COVID Crisis on New Yorkers With DisabilitiesNew Yorkers with disabilities are suffering among the steepest economic losses and hardships from the coronavirus pandemic and face an especially challenging path back to employment, while the organizations that serve them have sustained millions in lost revenue.
Report - January 2021
Building an Inclusive Economy in NYC: Boosting College AttainmentIncreasing the number of New Yorkers with a college credential will be key to creating a more inclusive economy in New York, concludes this new analysis, which reveals striking racial and ethnic disparities in college attainments rates across NYC.
Report - December 2020
State of the Chains, 2020Our thirteenth annual ranking of national retailers in New York City finds by far the largest overall decline in the number of chain stores as the national retail market experienced unprecedented contraction due to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent shutdowns and store closures.
Report - December 2020
The Changing Face of Creativity in New York: Sustaining NYC’s Immigrant Arts EcosystemImmigrant artists are increasingly essential to the creative landscape of New York City. But now the livelihoods of countless immigrant artists—and the survival of the cultural organizations that champion their work—are facing major threats.
Report - December 2020
A Green Public Works Program for NYC: 40 Ideas from ExpertsTo understand how New York might take advantage of federal investment to create jobs and help the city mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, CUF asked city leaders in coastal resilience, environmental justice, urban agriculture, renewable energy, and more for sustainability and resiliency project ideas.
Report - November 2020
CUNY’s Key Role in Expanding Access to Tech CareersPart of our ongoing research on how to create a more inclusive economy in NYC, this data brief shows that CUNY has made crucial progress in producing STEM grads. Tapping this talent pool, and making further gains in the years ahead, will be key to closing the opportunity gap for tech careers.
Report - October 2020
Surviving the Winter: Helping NYC’s Small Businesses in the Months AheadOpen streets and outdoor dining gave the city's small firms a lifeline, but with just a few weeks left until winter, it's time for the city and state to step in with new set of creative solutions to give shops and restaurants a crucial boost. CUF asked over twenty city leaders and experts for ideas and insights on how policymakers can help sustain restaurants and other small businesses through the colder months.
Report - September 2020
NYC Minority Businesses in Flux: Black- and Asian-Owned Businesses Grow While Hispanic-Owned DeclineA fresh analysis of newly released data on New York City's minority-owned employer businesses shows the increasing importance of these businesses to the economies of every borough, adding urgency to the challenges now facing minority-owned businesses during the COVID crisis.
Report - August 2020
Stark Disparities in Employment and Wages for Black New YorkersThe growing mass movement for racial justice has shined a light on harsh disparities affecting nearly every facet of American life—from criminal justice and policing to the health and economic effects of the pandemic. This new analysis examines disparities in employment and wages experienced by Black residents of New York City, finding widespread underrepresentation and alarming wage gaps across dozens of industries.
