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Event - January 2026
Putting the ‘Rec’ Back in NYC Parks and RecreationOur February 11th policy forum will explore the importance of public recreation, which once accounted for one-third of NYC Parks’s budget—compared to 5 percent today. Panelists will advance ideas for bolstering aging rec facilities and expanding recreational programming, especially in low-income neighborhoods, where access to free recreation is limited and demand is high.
Report - January 2026
Integrating Artists into NYC’s Affordable Housing StrategyNew York City can not survive as a global center for arts and culture if artists can not afford to live here. And yet the city has fallen behind the rest of the state—and much of the nation—when it comes to developing artist housing. This report proposes solutions for integrating artists into NYC's affordable housing strategy.
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impact - January 2026
“The think tank quietly influencing NY’s top officials”Crain's New York Business recently published this in-depth profile of the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), titled “The think tank quietly influencing New York’s top officials.” The article noted that “CUF has hit its stride in recent years, managing to catch the attention of powerful city officials with its brand of pragmatic, hyper-specific ideas for improving economic mobility.”
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Report - January 2026
15 Policy Ideas for NYC to Start 2026To start 2026, we offer up 15 policy ideas that CUF wrote about in 2025 that Mayor Mamdani and the City Council should consider implementing this year—on issues from expanding economic mobility and strengthening financial security for older adults to generating new revenues and cutting bureaucratic roadblocks that stifle progress.
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Event - January 2026
Strengthening NYC’s Cultural and Creative SectorOn January 21st, the Center for an Urban Future held a policy forum focused on new threats facing New York City's creative economy. Speakers discussed what Mayor Mamdani and the City Council should do to strengthen New York’s cultural and creative sector amid an affordability crisis and a range of other accelerating challenges.
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Commentary/Op-Ed - December 2025
The Other Side of AffordabilityOur new commentary in Vital City argues that solving New York City’s affordability crisis will require more than just tackling the soaring cost of living. The incoming mayor also needs a plan for tackling the other side of affordability—raising incomes and building wealth. Our piece offers five ideas for how the new administration can jumpstart an economic mobility agenda.
