Greater

New York's community colleges are an essential part of not just the education sector, but the overall workforce, as they provide low cost education and training to thousands of New Yorkers each year. As we head into the school year, we spoke with Kenneth Adams, president of LaGuardia Community College, about how the school recovers after Covid, the ways it could benefit from the Biden infrastructure bill, and what he sees for the school and its students going forward.

With the demise of the Daily News and the shut down of local coverage by the Wall Street Journal, THE CITY, founded in 2019, is more critical than ever to give New Yorkers independent journalism about New York City. Its service journalism was a first read for many New Yorkers during the pandemic, thanks to its interactive Covid-19 tracking map, and it has a hard hitting diverse group of investigative reporters. We speak to executive director Nic Dawes about how the newspaper will amplify the biggest concerns facing New Yorkers going forward.

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and other incidents of police violence across the country, the last year saw a dramatic increase in calls for public safety reform in New York city. At the same time, violent crime is rising to levels higher than we've seen in some time, making it harder to simply accept demands for "defunding." What is the right role of police in the city going forward? We speak to Chauncey Parker, deputy commissioner for community partnerships at the NYPD, about the ways the police department is changing, and how they can better engage with communities.

Governor Cuomo recently announced a new spur of the High Line to link Moynihan Train Hall to the far West Side and another link to the Javits Center, too. We invited Robert Hammond, co-founder and executive director of Friends of the High Line to share his vision as the city emerges from the crisis. He’s been thinking about the way the High Line can be a connector for the needs of all New Yorkers and continue to be a source of economic development and cultural and social activity on Manhattan’s West Side.

Vaccinations, ending persistent poverty and the Cross Bronx Expressway... These are some things on the mind of new Congressman Ritchie Torres. He joined Congress in an unusual year, in the midst of Covid-19, and following the January 6th attacks on Washington. He’s advocating for his constituents in the Bronx on everything from housing to pollution to job growth to make sure New York City has the best future possible.

There’s a new “vice” in town. New York State has now legalized marijuana, and it will mean not just booming business but also tax revenue. Catharine Dockery, founding partner of Vice Ventures, has been investing in this space - as well as others categorized as vice - for years and believes they could be a cornerstone of New York’s recovery and future.

Sometimes change comes from organizations, businesses, or the government. But sometimes, change can begin with a single individual. Corinne Low, assistant professor at Wharton, is one such individual. She spoke out and stepped up to fight stigma surrounding homelessness on the Upper West Side when her neighbors and even friends were not only on the other side of the issue, but actively fundraising against her. Low is the co-founder of Upper West Side Open Hearts.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted socio-economic, racial and health disparities in New York. Guest Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance explains how climate change and environmental conditions in lower income neighborhoods have an adverse impact for those same populations and what can be done to bring justice to those communities in New York City to benefit residents there and throughout New York.

Jonathan Rosen and Risa Heller great New Yorkers. Two of the best in the the public relations world, they are co-founders of the NYForever campaign. The campaign involves a pledge to commit to New York's recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic, and has gotten support from corporations, celebrities, and every New Yorkers. We speak to them about what's next for the city as we kick off Season 2.

Laura Schultz, executive director of research at the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government, looks closely at how New York state dollars funnel towards the federal government, and how those funds come back to the state and city. For a long time, New York's balance of payments have tilted toward a gap, meaning the state sends more to the federal government than it gets back. We'll look at the ways that impacts services in New York and how it might recover from Covid-19 and the resulting budget shortfall. 

Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, says that the bars and restaurants that make our city what it is are heading into another dark few months because of Covid. He explains the ways we can all support local restaurants throughout the remaining months of the pandemic, and help them—-and all New Yorkers—-come out on the other side.

Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Commission, has been following the city and state budgets for some time, and he knows that the Covid-19 pandemic has put them both in a precarious state. Rein argues that there are lessons we can learn from previous fiscal crises, and that there are creative measures we can take before the government looks at cutting services or raising taxes, both of which could have cyclical negative impacts on the city overall. 

Jarret Berg, cofounder of VoteEarlyNY, says there's a lot that's about to change about voting in New York, and a public education campaign is needed. Following up on our previous conversation about ranked-choice voting, we talk about other ways in which the vote can be suppressed in New York City, and the reforms to combat those issues. 

Susan Lerner is one of the city's leading experts on ranked-choice voting. As Executive Director of the nonprofit Common Cause, she was instrumental in the campaign during New York City ballot initiative to bring ranked-choice voting to New York City primaries and special elections. That measure, as part of a slate of Charter Commission recommendations, passed last November and goes into effect in 2021. But while an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers voted in favor of the change - there's still a lot of confusion about what it is, how it will work - and who stands to benefit.

Sally Susman, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pfizer, gives an insider’s look at how quickly development of a safe Covid-19 vaccine is coming along. The New York City-based pharmaceutical giant is working closely with nonprofits, government, and other private companies to solve the biggest problem facing the world today.

Jonathan Harber has been pushing for innovation in learning long before it became such a necessity during the pandemic. As someone who has started a charter school, as chairman of StartEd Inc, and as a board member of the Fund for Public Schools, he supports a community of innovators looking to find the pain points in education - and solve them. Perhaps nowhere is this more important than in New York City, where a large, diverse student body faces many challenges in getting an equitable education while having to learn remotely. Harber is arguing for, among other things, an innovative approach to repurposing school gyms and cafeterias for distanced learning.

Nick Turner has spent decades working on the criminal justice, policing and community issues. As president of the Vera Institute of Justice, he oversees nonprofit work in key areas like changing conditions in prisons, combatting misuse of jails, and making justice systems more equitable and effective, especially among the city and country’s growing minority communities.  In this episode, Nick talks about the impact the coronavirus epidemic and subsequent protests against police brutality are having on his advocacy work, and the ways in which he thinks enormous policing budgets could be better spent. 

Bradley Tusk is a man who does many things to help democracy bring about positive change - from mobile voting to working the levers of government to bring an end to hunger. In this episode he also learns he's an unwitting trisector evangelist, as his work bridges the non profit, private, and government sector worlds in his efforts to help New Yorkers. Tusk is a venture capitalist, philanthropist, and CEO of Tusk Ventures and Tusk Strategies. He joined us to talk about how public policy can be shaped in the future.

Each summer in NYC, government, private, and public organizations come together to fund and manage a program that’s become vital to tens of thousands of young people in the city: the Summer Youth Employment Program or SYEP, which matches teenagers with hundreds of employers and pays non profits to manage these relationships. This year, in the wake of Covid-19, Mayor de Blasio cancelled the $125 million program for the summer. Saskia Traill, CEO of ExpandED Schools, worked with many others to build a civic coalition to take the lead, and government followed and restored funding, ultimately saving the summer for 35,000 NYC teens.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, many New Yorkers have become far more aware of the importance of local government officials in their lives through the daily press briefings delivered by the governor and mayor. But behind the curtain of city and state flags, there is an unflagging team of agencies and departments working together in novel ways to make the city livable - and more equitable. Marisa Lago, the head of the Department of City Planning and the Chair of the City Planning Commission, explains what goes into city planning — and what citizens get out of it.

With calls for police reform reverberating across the United States following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, criticism and outrage have focused on the ways police departments have functioned for years. Like many complicated problems, true reform in policing and justice will involve several layers of government, the work of nonprofits, and the support of the private sector. Alvin Bragg, a law professor, former prosecutor - and current candidate for Manhattan District Attorney - zeroes in on the role the legal system plays in all of this and what New York City has been doing — and should be doing — to enact real change.

While New Yorkers have dedicated their energy to fighting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, it is easy to forget about the ongoing problems many across the city are suffering from — and the fact that, for many, those problems have been worse in the last few months. It also has us thinking anew about what it means to be a human services essential worker in this moment. Our guest, Ariel Zwang, CEO of Safe Horizon, says it is time to address systemic failures throughout the human services sector, the way these services have been defunded over time, and the way nonprofits interact with police departments, the government, and the people they serve.

The past few weeks has been unlike any others after months of uncertainty, sadness, and fear, marred by protests and violence in the streets of America and the worsening of the global COVID-19 pandemic. “What can we do?” is a real question many of us are asking and discussing privately — how can philanthropy, whether from individuals or foundations, adapt to effect real change in these turbulent times? Suzette Brooks Masters brings her experience in government, corporate law and, most recently, a distinguished career in philanthropy to bear on the crises facing Americans today.

With healthcare costs on the rise, and the fate of a nation-wide, universal health care system still very unclear, many companies and nonprofits are chipping away at other ways to bring down costs and improve existing systems. In the midst of a pandemic, can telemedicine prove a feasible fix by providing care without leaving the home? Zach Reitano, cofounder of the telehealth company Ro, explains how virtual diagnosis and access to low-cost prescriptions can meet the immediate needs of patients battling COVID-19 — and, with any luck, change the face of healthcare in America as we know it.

With the addition of Uber and Lyft to the street of New York City, the yellow — and green— taxis have faced an existential moment. Long considered part of the city’s mass transit, what does the future hold for this iconic brand? Mahir Dange and Zahid Biviji, co-founders of Wapanda, join us to talk about their hope for the taxi industry,what COVID-19 means for this important piece of urban infrastructure, and how much the public and private sectors have at stake.

With locations across the five boroughs, the YMCA of Greater New York has offered physical spaces and the programs that serve their communities for decades. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, both the Y and non-profit organizations like it must adjust to service a world where public spaces and programs operate under very different rules for the sake of all New Yorkers. With past experience in hospitals, real estate, and more, Sharon Greenberger, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York, explains how she’s getting the organization through the crisis, and what she hopes New York will look like on the other side.

From Chinatown to Flushing, the biggest Asian-American communities in New York City have been suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic for longer than most, as visitors and tourism dropped off in January. Now, Asian communities face discrimination and racism due to the spread of the virus, in addition to the other health and economic burdens hitting the predominantly lower-income population. Chinese-American Planning Council president and CEO Wayne Ho talks about the challenges his constituents face today — and how to rebuild equitably for the future.

New York City’s status as epicenter of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak has put immense stress on its healthcare industry, the doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and administrators who are the front line of the pandemic. In the space of a few weeks, they’ve had to adjust how they operate to fit a world that not only gives them hundreds of new patients a day, but forces them to face stark ethical issues posed by the inequity and weakness in the public health system unearthed by the pandemic. Columbia University medical ethicist Dr. Barbra Rothschild discusses what New York’s COVID-19 crisis says about the state of our healthcare system and how we should think about the next stage of the pandemic.

According to government data, around 98 percent of the 220,000 businesses in New York City are classified as small businesses. With the city shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is real concern that the subsequent economic downturn could result in as many as half of these small businesses failing — which means only half of the places residents depend on might not be here when the crisis is over. Bruce Katz, Drexel University professor and founder of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and author of several books on the future of cities, describes what cities can do to help small businesses survive and thrive in a time of crisis.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, New York has become a city starved for open space. The virus hasn’t just deprived residents of the places we all depend upon as our collective backyard, but the cultural institutions that make New York what it is - from the museums and zoos to fixtures like the High Line and botanical gardens. Carrie Rebora Barratt, CEO of the New York Botanical Garden, discusses the future of open space, museums, and the NYBG's role in the city during and after the crisis.

During times of crisis, from Chicago during the 1995 heat wave to New York during the coronavirus pandemic, the disruption of physical spaces yields a new kind of social engagement with both friends and strangers. Eric Klinenberg, director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, explains how a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic reminds us how interconnected all aspects of public life really are.

The criminal justice system has been uniquely impacted by the spread of the coronavirus, from COVID-19 cases in the prison system to the challenge of keeping the court system moving. Marshall Project Found Neil Barsky discusses American justice in the era of coronavirus — and how journalists can continue to hold the criminal justice system accountable in a moment of transition.

Children in poverty are among the hardest hit by the spread of the coronavirus, facing challenges from food scarcity to delayed reunification with parents after fostering. Children’s Aid CEO Phoebe Boyer describes how coronavirus has impacted at-risk children — and how private and public groups can mobilize to help those who need it most.

How do crises change the face of cities? New York City has always served as a test case for major change. Carl Weisbrod, former chairman of the New York City Planning Commission and a senior advisor at HR&A Advisors, discusses how New York communities come together to solve some of the city’s thorniest challenges from 9/11 to the financial crisis.

From immigration and housing to climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, New York City is often on the front lines of crises - but it's also poised to come up with the best solutions. Greater is a new show where we bring you leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors who work together to build a better New York. Hosted by Jamie Rubin and Cheryl Cohen Effron, we will be with you during the crisis... and the recovery.