Putting New York on course for a lasting and equitable recovery will not only require bold action, but also solutions that are new, innovative, and creative. The Center for an Urban Future recently published a blueprint for an equitable recovery that features concrete policy ideas from a diverse mix of 175 engaged New Yorkers. Some of the nearly 250 ideas we received would help create jobs right now or support the New Yorkers hardest hit by the pandemic, while others would lay the foundation for a stronger and more inclusive economy over the long run. 

In this op-ed for Gotham Gazette, CUF Executive Director Jonathan Bowles and Winston C. Fisher list eight ideas from the report that warrant swift action from current and soon-to-be elected city leaders: Pair tech-savvy CUNY students with small businesses that need help adopting technology; make NYC a global capital of public health; spur the return to offices by supporting public programming that reinvigorates business districts; spur economic development in underserved communities by making long-overdue public realm improvements; break the logjam around housing development in NYC with a grand bargain around housing and jobs; provide new income supports for NYC’s fast-growing (but low-wage) direct care workforce; create an NYC Climate Corps; and invest in quality childcare for New Yorkers in workforce training programs. 

You can read the op-ed here.

This op-ed builds on the Center's ongoing research on building a stronger and more equitable economy, including the recent report RE:NEW YORK CITY: 250 Ideas from New Yorkers to Revive NYC's Economy, Spark Good Jobs, and Build a More Equitable City.