Center for an Urban Future

A modest expansion of parks concessions could make New York’s parks even more appealing while providing a much-needed source of dedicated revenue for parks citywide at a time when city funding for parks has failed to keep pace with their growing maintenance and infrastructure needs. Join us on 4/2 for a forum, made possible with generous support from the NYC Green Fund and City Parks Foundation, that will dive into the opportunity for a thoughtful expansion of concessions in parks across the five boroughs—including food and beverage, recreation, and wellness. ?? RSVP to attend in-person: https://lnkd.in/ex7HfG9y ?? RSVP to watch the livestream: https://lnkd.in/e28BNTMX

Our latest report lays out five actionable ideas to help New York City retain—and attract—families. In recent years, few cities have suffered as large an exodus of young families. Between April 2020 and July 2023, the population of children under the age of five in New York City declined by a staggering *18.3 percent.* This was far more than the nationwide decline (-4.6 percent), the average decline in large urban counties (-8.1 percent), and more than peer cities such as San Francisco (-15.4 percent), Los Angeles (-14.2 percent), and Chicago (-14.6 percent). To reverse this trend, and address the affordability crisis that is at the heart of the problem, we recommend the following five policy ideas: ?? Close childcare gaps through a public-private partnership modeled on Iowa’s Childcare Solutions Fund to increase supply in underserved areas. ??? Create or free up 10,000 affordable three-bedroom apartments through incentives, zoning changes, and senior downsizing initiatives. ?? Expand 3-K and Pre-K enrollment using AI-powered outreach tools to ensure every eligible child is reached and enrolled. ?? Scale up NYC Parks’ Summer Day Camps to serve 5,000 children, providing families with a more affordable and accessible summer childcare alternative. ?? Revamp the city’s struggling middle schools by creating new, smaller schools and investing in innovative leadership to boost retention at a critical transition point for families. Check out the report, 5 Ideas for Retaining NYC’s Families, published in partnership with Fisher Brothers Foundation and Winston Fisher: https://lnkd.in/e3CzWpcq And coverage of the report in Gothamist: https://lnkd.in/gwfTyekz

??? Unlocking NYC's Green Economy Opportunity The green economy presents an extraordinary opportunity to expand access to well-paying jobs for low-income New Yorkers–many of whom are already bearing the brunt of climate change. But our new report, made possible with support from JPMorgan Chase, finds that New York City’s green economy has grown in recent years but is not yet anywhere close to fully charged. Our analysis finds just 2,184 unique job postings in the city’s core green economy in 2023—far fewer than the job postings for traditional industries like healthcare (70,002 job postings), finance (56,314), and tech (46,912). Even where green jobs are growing, they’re often outside the core green economy—in industries like architecture (+314 annual postings since 2013), finance (+354) and higher education (+491).?Many of these jobs typically go to candidates with college degrees, making the role of CUNY especially critical in expanding access to these careers. What does NYC need to do to fully realize the green economy’s potential? ??? Supercharge Local Law 97 by swiftly launching an NYC Green Building Fund, expanding PACE Financing, and creating a Green Building Assistance Corps. ?? Tap CUNY students to help build a greener university—and prepare them for green careers. ???Expand solar power generation in NYC’s highest-opportunity neighborhoods. ???Unleash green tech innovation through challenge-based procurement. ???Launch a Green Economy Data Dashboard to guide investments in workforce programs. ? Create an Electrification Careers Challenge Grant to scale up training in high-demand occupations. ?? Check out the full report here:?https://lnkd.in/eaMkG7gw

There is an opportunity to close NYC’s tech opportunity gap and expand pathways into?higher-paying, tech-powered careers?for more New Yorkers of color, women, and low-income residents by ensuring all children gain early exposure to computational thinking. Last week, a Center for an Urban Future forum explored the vital role of CUNY's Computing Integrated Teacher Education (CITE) initiative and the urgent need to invest in its expansion so that more teachers can introduce these foundational skills in the earliest grades and across the K-12 system. Thank you to Robin Hood for making this event possible, and to our amazing panelists: Council Member Rita Joseph, Melanie Mac of NYC Department of Education/NYC Public Schools, Ron Summers of Mouse, Amber Oliver of Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund, Sara Vogel of The City University of New York, and 5th Grade teacher + former CITE participant @Michelle Ortiz. ?? Catch a replay of the event here:?https://lnkd.in/d4_kmDjW

On Tuesday, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced?4?? new policy?proposals?that were directly inspired by our research at the Center for an Urban Future: ?? Establish the NYC Minority-Owned Business Accelerator?–?Speaker Adams announced that “the Council will help establish a Minority-Owned Business Accelerator, modeled after a similar effort in Cincinnati.” In 2022, CUF published?a report which urged city leaders to replicate Cincinnati’s successful Minority Business Accelerator to help more of New York’s great minority-owned businesses grow into larger, job-generating entities. The?New York Times?highlighted this proposal in its coverage of the Speaker’s speech, noting that CUF had “proposed the idea.” ?? Launch CUNY Fresh Start?–?We urged city leaders to “establish CUNY Fresh Start, an initiative to reduce or eliminate unpaid balances up to $1,000 to help more adult learners to re-enroll at CUNY and complete their degree” in our?November?2024 report, Helping NYC’s Low-Income Adult Learners Succeed at CUNY. Speaker Adams outlined a proposal to establish CUNY Fresh Start, saying: “We can … eliminate a major financial barrier by clearing old unpaid balances of up to $1,000 for former students to successfully re-enroll.” ?? Create CUNY Flex?– CUF?first proposed?the idea of a CUNY Flex program in March 2024, calling on city leaders to “establish CUNY Flex to help more of CUNY's low-income adult learners complete degrees.” We recommended that “Mayor Adams and the City Council … tackle this gap by launching a new wraparound services initiative for part-time learners—potentially called CUNY Flex.”?Speaker Adams announced a proposal on Tuesday to “Expand Support for Low-Income Adult Learners by Establishing CUNY Flex.” ?? Expand CUNY ACE?– Speaker Adams announced a proposal to “Expand CUNY ACE from reaching 3 percent of eligible students to 30 percent to boost graduation rates.” Her announcement echoed CUF’s?March 2023 recommendation?to “Expand CUNY's highly successful but small-scale ACE program to help more senior college students succeed.” Check out our January 2025 report, 15 Policy Ideas for NYC to Start 2025, which featured each of these ideas for expanding economic mobility in New York:?https://lnkd.in/eqx9SzQa

Absolutely thrilled and honored to be in the room today at Speaker Adams’s 2025 State of the City Address as she announces several new proposals inspired by our research at the Center for an Urban Future: ?? Establish an NYC Minority Business Accelerator to help growth-oriented Black and Latino-owned small businesses get to the next level. ?? Baseline funding for CUNY Reconnect to help thousands more working-age New Yorkers return to college to finish their degrees. ?? Launch CUNY Flex and CUNY Fresh Start, two new initiatives that can help more adult learners succeed in college by expanding acccess to wraparound services for part-time students and eliminating unpaid balances up to $1,000. Really excited and heartened by the Speaker’s leadership and ready to get to work helping these programs and investments come to life.

Yesterday, Center for an Urban Future hosted a forum that explored the growing power of the arts as a catalyst for thriving communities statewide and discussed ways that officials can more fully integrate the arts into New York state's policy agenda. Thank you to our speakers: Assembly Members Brian-Christopher Cunningham, Ron Kim, and Jonathan Rivera, Sarah Calderon, Alma Carrillo, Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham, Philip Morris, and Justin Relf. Thank you to Creatives Rebuild New York for the generous support to make this event possible. And a big thank you to everyone who came from across the state to gather with us in Albany, and to the over 150 people who tuned into the livestream! ?? Check out a replay of the event here: https://lnkd.in/e3BxtedV

Missed CUF's newest report? Check out the press coverage about it ?? ? "Report finds number of older NY residents in poverty jumps by 50%" - Albany Times Union: https://lnkd.in/eRFc7ngY ? "Report details ‘emerging financial security crisis’ facing New York seniors" - Spectrum News NY1: https://lnkd.in/eeYh7yhk ? "Older New Yorkers facing surge in poverty rates - Finger Lakes 1": https://lnkd.in/eigaHCDR ? "Report shows half of older New Yorkers live in poverty; North Country sees significant spike" - NBC5 News: https://lnkd.in/ezKJvcSz ? "Number of Long Island seniors in poverty increased up to 78 percent in past decade: study" - New York Post: https://lnkd.in/eGzunwuw ? "More Long Island seniors facing poverty, statewide study shows" - Newsday: https://lnkd.in/e32dtFRA ?? Read the full report, made possible with support from AARP: https://lnkd.in/eHZqZ2x7

Register for our upcoming policy forum on 3/5, which will highlight a major opportunity to close NYC’s tech opportunity gap by ensuring all children gain early exposure to computational thinking. The event, made possible with generous support from Robin Hood, will explore CITE’s vital role and the urgent need to invest in its expansion so that more teachers can introduce these foundational skills in the earliest grades and across the K-12 system. ?? RSVP to attend in-person: https://lnkd.in/d-8xe_iq ?? RSVP to watch the livestream: https://lnkd.in/dJKsftXn

Last week, more than 240 people attended or tuned in to the Center for an Urban Future’s policy forum, “Ideas for Creating a Stronger and More Equitable Bronx.” The unique half-day event, laser-focused on generating ideas for the Bronx’s future, included: ? A fireside chat with Bronx Borough President Hon. Vanessa L. Gibson, MPA (She, Her, Hers, Ella); ? A panel discussion featuring several of the Bronx’s elected officials—including Council Member Althea Stevens and Assembly Members Amanda Septimo, Karines Reyes RN, and Emerita Torres; ? Eight three-minute idea pitches from community leaders, nonprofit practitioners, artists, and entrepreneurs from across the borough; ? A high-level panel discussion featuring four Bronx-based policy experts and community leaders: Mychal Johnson of South Bronx Unite, Jerelyn Rodriguez of The Knowledge House, Lisa Sorin of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, and John Weed of BronxWorks;? ? And a thirty-minute session in which more than a dozen audience members from the Bronx shared their ideas for creating a stronger and more equitable borough. ?? Read a recap of the forum: https://lnkd.in/dpsfCqhe ?? Watch the video replay of the discussion: https://lnkd.in/dr_DJCTE ?? Check out this article about the event in The Bronx Daily: https://lnkd.in/dj4d-euy