Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Economy

Economy

  • The Luxury of Risk: Helping People Afford to Pursue Their Dreams Again

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    An opportunity for workers in an old law (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    As several cities begin to shutdown again with the hope of slowing the spread of COVID-19, we’re reminded of the timeless words “certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I’m interested in the unique opportunity to evaluate how that third unalienable right — the pursuit of happiness — matches with the reality of today’s world and steps we can take to improve opportunities for people to pursue and achieve their definition of happiness.

    For Americans, it

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  • City's 'Open Storefronts' Program Critiqued as Too Late and Too Limited But with Room to Grow

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    SBS Commissioner Doris at a small business (photo: @NYC_SBS)


    Frustrated City Council members and hopeful––yet weary––small business advocates took to a hearing Tuesday to express their concerns about the Open Storefronts program launched recently by Mayor de Blasio after outcry from the business community, particularly smaller retailers. Small businesses, many of which are struggling to hold on if they haven’t already closed due to the pandemic and a lack of government help, can enroll in the program that, as of now, will give them through December 31 to sell their merchandise

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  • For the Entire Metro Region, We Must Do Everything We Can to Avoid Another Broad Economic Shutdown

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    Steve Bellone, the author/left, at a local business (photo: @SteveBellone)


    To say that 2020 has been a rough year for New Yorkers would be the understatement of the century. COVID-19 hit us like a mack truck, with the greater New York City metropolitan area suffering the worst.

    Working with Governor Cuomo, we quickly sprang into action to flatten the curve and save lives with a shutdown. But it did not come without a steep toll on our economy and small businesses. After months of strict shutdown rules, New Yorkers finally began to see a light at

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  • For an Equitable Recovery, New York Must Utilize Our Manufacturing and Industrial Sector

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    DNJ Mechanical Corp. moving into Maspeth (photo: BOC Network/Maspeth Industrial Business Association)


    As we get deeper into the current crisis, it’s becoming clearer that New York won’t simply bounce back to “normal.” We need effective strategies to transform our city’s infrastructure and economy. Policies aimed at protecting and growing industrial jobs can improve not only our citywide economy, but the nearby low-income residential communities and the lives of the predominantly of-color manufacturing workforce.

    As industrial business service providers, we ask our current and

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  • CUNY and New York City Could Recover Together, or the Public University System Could Be Left Behind

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    CUNY Chancellor Matos Rodriguez and students, pre-pandemic (photo: City University of New York)


    College seniors who graduated this June faced a very different economic landscape from the one they saw at the beginning of the school year. A global pandemic shattered the job market, and many industries — including the performing arts, entertainment, restaurants, and hospitality and tourism — were in complete freefall after government-mandated closures. 

    The widespread financial strain that saw unemployment in New York City skyrocket from 4% to well over 20%

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  • Time for the Big Banks to Reinvest in New York City

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    Eric Adams at a Brooklyn business (photo: @BKBoroHall)


    At the height of the pandemic New York City did the unthinkable in the city that never sleeps: it closed up shop. To stop the spread and protect lives, we shut down everything—including the tens of thousands of small businesses that are the backbone of our local economy.

    The sacrifice was immense. New Yorkers gave up their livelihoods and put their American dreams on hold. Some lost everything.

    It did not have to be this way. One good thing that Washington did during the crisis was to fund a lifeline for small

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  • Stringer Plan Calls for Revamping City Workforce Development, Including Free Community College

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    CUNY grads (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photography Office)


    New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer proposed a plan Wednesday to revamp the city's workforce development strategy, including by making CUNY community colleges tuition-free and expanding job training opportunities for people at career crossroads.

    The pandemic has decimated jobs in New York City -- with unemployment at roughly 16%, though some estimates say the “real” figure is much higher -- and shifted forecasts about the future of industries across the board. Advocates and policymakers are looking for ways to

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  • City-Solicited Recommendations Offer Strategies for More Inclusive Workforce

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    Mayor de Blasio at Google in Manhattan (photo: Mayoral Photography Office)


    A series of new reports commissioned by the de Blasio administration to examine ways to develop a more inclusive and robust workforce, particularly in New York City's growing tech sector, lays out both big opportunities and high barriers to achieve them.

    The studies, recently published by the New York City Economic Development Corporation but conducted largely before the pandemic-spurred recession, were designed and conducted by nonprofits, many of which run workforce development programs. Their

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  • Could a Tax on Stock Trading Help New York Fill Its Massive Budget Hole?

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    Gov. Cuomo at the New York Stock Exchange (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    This story was published in partnership with New York Focus, an independent, investigative news publication covering New York state and city politics, as part of its launch.
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    As the pandemic roiled markets in the spring, New York recorded surging revenue from an obscure

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  • Members of De Blasio's Small Business Advisory Council Frustrated by Lack of Communication, Progress

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    Mayor de Blasio gets ice cream (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    An advisory council created by Mayor Bill de Blasio to speak on behalf of the city’s small businesses hasn’t convened in months and some of its members say their concerns aren’t being heard as the city charts a stunted recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

    In April, de Blasio announced the creation of several task forces to help lead the city’s recovery efforts, including advisory councils dedicated to specific sectors such as large and small businesses, health care, education,

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  • Borough President Candidates Talk Future of Manhattan Economy, Small Businesses

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    (l-r) Mark Levine; Elizabeth Caputo; Brad Hoylman; Kim Watkins; Ben Kallos


    The five Democratic candidates running to be the next Manhattan Borough President via the upcoming 2021 election gathered by Zoom on Wednesday for a candidate forum hosted by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, with topics focused on the devastated local economy and small businesses in the borough.

    The participating candidates, seeking to replace term-limited Democrat Gale Brewer, were Elizabeth Caputo, a former community board chair on the Upper West Side;

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  • How New York City Might Begin to Revive Its Decimated Tourism Industry

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    Visitors to the Statue of Liberty (photo: Spencer T Tucker/City Council)


    New York City’s tourism industry has a long road to recovery and a lot to learn from other cities like London, which has kick-started its economy through hyperlocal tourism, to come out of the coronavirus pandemic recession. During a virtual policy forum this week hosted by the Center for an Urban Future, top

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  • Our Chance to Get Queens, and the City, Working Again

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    The authors write about opportunity for Queens (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    The last several months have taken a tremendous toll on our local economy. Over 20 percent of New York City residents were unemployed in June, a level not seen since the Great Depression. Thanks to our frontline heroes and the leadership of our elected officials, we’ve flattened the curve and New York is winning its battle against COVID-19. Now it’s time to get New Yorkers back to work.

    Through a community-centered process, with buy-in from local community

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  • As New York City Continues on Path to Recovery, City Officials Must Take Action to Protect Good Construction Jobs

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    (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Residents and businesses across the five boroughs continue to struggle as New York City begins the long process of economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. At times like these, it is the responsibility of city officials to not only create new opportunities but also to protect and sustain the jobs we have.

    That is why, amid all the much-needed public discussions around workers in hard-hit sectors, the construction industry – which employed ...

  • New Report Highlights Sharp Income and Employment Disparities for Black New Yorkers

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    (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The Coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on New York City’s economy and has revealed, and exacerbated, the existing socioeconomic disparities that afflict communities of color in the city. As Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration looks to ensure a fair recovery that focuses on racial equity, a new report shows that there are deep disparities in income and employment for Black New Yorkers that

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  • A Housing Policy to Stimulate the New York Economy

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    New York City (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    After months of being on pause and the ravages of COVID-19, we need to be thinking of ways to jumpstart our New York economy. Just as one can take a seemingly dead battery and revive it with the right charge and a set of jumper cables, we too can help to restart our economy with a charge of the right stimulus: changing the condo conversion laws to make condo conversion easier again. 

    Condo conversion refers to when a developer changes a rental residential building, typically owned by one landlord, to a

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  • Two Plans Map Path Forward for Devastated New York City Economy

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    Getting New York City back to work (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    With COVID-19 infection rates low and New York moving through phased ‘reopening,’ the attention of elected officials, business leaders, and others has turned toward the city’s economic recovery. This month, two groups, the Partnership for New York City, which represents many of the city’s largest businesses, and a new coalition, the New York Workforce Recovery Strategy Group, have released recovery plans with somewhat different focuses and

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: A Devastating Economic Picture in New York & What To Do About It

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    New York City (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    July 22, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: A Devastating Economic Picture in New York & What To Do About It

    Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, joined the show to discuss the Partnership's new report on the New York City economy, what government and the private sector should both do -- at times together -- to rebuild the city economy, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on

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  • An Inclusive Recovery Starts With An Inclusive Process

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    Gather stakeholders around the table (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Major financial decisions in New York, such as city and state budgets and economic development deals, are typically made behind closed doors in processes that are opaque to the public and rushed through our legislatures. The recent budget deal between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council was no different — addressing a $9 billion shortfall with contingencies and fuzzy math. It included an insufficient plan to restart our economy and will

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  • New York’s Working Men and Women are Ready To Go Back to Work

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    Construction needs to boom again (photo: governor's office)


    New York, and the nation, are recovering from an economic hit unlike any other in our history. It has been tough and now is the time to get back to work.

    Let’s build our way out of the pain of the last several months with innovative, ambitious, and transformative projects that will put wages for working New Yorkers back into the economy and let our hard-hit state speed the healing by rebuilding our aging infrastructure.

    Hard work is the backbone of our nation. Hard work is what gives us purpose.

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  • Black Business Owners Hang On Through Covid Crisis as Black Lives Matter Movement Surges

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    Mayor de Blasio & Chirlane McCray dine at Melba's in Harlem (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Miriam Milord, the Black owner of BCakeNY in Brooklyn, had to completely reimagine her custom dessert business when the coronavirus pandemic hit New York. She usually served events of around 75 to 100 people, but, with social distancing guidelines, customers cancelled those gatherings. All of her orders disappeared.

    “So that stopped, you know, from one day to the next pretty much,” said Milord. “So not only were we not selling cakes, we also were

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  • ‘Real’ Unemployment in New York City is as High as 25%, with 1 Million Out of Labor Force Due to Pandemic

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    Construction workers (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    Labor statistics can be very confusing, especially for the general public.

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just released its June 2020 report, and while it does show an uptick in employment across the nation, economic pain remains widespread. The numbers for New York City and New York State, while they lag behind the national report, show more severe difficulties. A New York Times ...

  • Infrastructure Investment Can Restart the Economy, But Prioritize Fixing What We Have

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    Existing infrastructure needs major investment (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Governor Cuomo traveled to Washington on Wednesday to meet with President Trump, where he pitched the president on infrastructure investments like an expanded Second Avenue Subway and a new Penn Station. The governor is right to push for a national public works program, which would get thousands of newly unemployed Americans working again while tackling urgent infrastructure needs. 

    The last time the nation embarked on a major public works program, it produced dozens

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  • No to Austerity, Yes to Efficiency and Fairness: Getting Our Budget Priorities Straight for a Strong Post-COVID New York

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    Major budget questions loom as coronavirus takes its toll (photo: Edwin J. Torres/ Mayor's Office)


    As we work to show COVID the door, tough budget decisions are ahead. Governments at every level are grappling with the unprecedented toll this pandemic has had on the economy. 

    COVID has laid bare structural inequities too stark to ignore. While some work comfortably from home, others put themselves in danger on the front lines. While some flee to the Hamptons, others pass the virus between family members in cramped New York City apartments.

    These choices become

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  • To Prepare for Future Crises and Recover from This One, Bring the Supply Chain Back to the United States

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    Ventilators arriving in New York from China (photo: governor's office)


    It’s been incredibly horrifying to watch scenes unfolding at New York City’s public hospitals as medical staff struggle to keep pace with the coronavirus pandemic. Although doctors and nurses—from Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn to Jacobi in the Bronx—have shown remarkable courage under fire, they are under siege from an invisible enemy that shows no mercy to those in its path.

    The situation has been tough for my mother to bear.

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