For the first time in 10 years, elected officials in New York City voted to give themselves a raise—an 18.2 percent increase. That number came as a recommendation from the Quadrennial Commission, for which CUNY ISLG conducted an independent analysis of affordability, comparable wages, and other cities to make sure the recommendations were rooted in data, not politics.

Why do students feel apathetic about voting, and what can be done? This post, by Civic Engagement Fellow Stephanie Frias, is the first in our series “Field Notes: Civic Engagement Fellow Voices on Democracy.”

After decades of rapid increase, cities and counties across the country were starting to reduce the numbers of women held in jails. But those numbers have started to climb again. A new analysis from CUNY looks at why women are being booked, how long they’re staying, and how it compares across demographics and to men.

The CUNY system educates hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers a year and serving as a major social economic engine for the city. Managing the budgets of its 26 colleges is, thus, complex. ISLG’s Financial Planning Fellowship for Higher Education gives CUNY college leaders to the tools to balance budgets while advancing academic innovation.

Our Public Policy Pathways Internship gives CUNY students hands-on experience in the public sector, developing career pathways into research, policy, data science, and government operations, as well as professional development. Meet the latest cohort.

Grassroots community organizations are increasingly becoming the lifeline for those facing immigration proceedings, particularly for minors who, unlike Liam, do not have immediate family members with them. In New York City, the Immigrant Children Advocates’ Relief Effort (ICARE) has connected unaccompanied minors with legal representation and other services since 2014.

“Though there is still a lot to build, local government has shown to be the level where there is the most trust, and I think the reason for that is a tighter feedback loop between the work that we do and the response we get from the community.” 

In theory, AI has incredible potential to help government and nonprofit entities improve the efficiency and quality of services. In practice, it also comes with questions and risks. CUNY ISLG is committed to understanding and using these tools responsibly and effectively, and has joined two initiatives to strengthen our ability to do so.

The 2026 Safety and Justice Challenge Research Symposium was an opportunity to reflect on the meaningful efforts and results of participating cities and counties, and dug into the expansive knowledge of what worked, what didn’t, and what should come next.

“I serve as a focal point, because everybody else on the team is specializing. The chief of staff is the one that needs to bring that all together and make sure it's heading in the right direction..”

In March 2026, ISLG partnered with the CUNY Graduate Center to convene leading researchers and practitioners to discuss how the police can us everyday interactions to strengthen trust and enhance public safety.

Studying real, case-level data from cities and counties reducing their jail populations has led researchers to a conclusion: pretrial reforms made through the Safety and Justice Challenge did not lead to rising rates of crime, violent of otherwise. Two new analyses show this trend on both a initiative-wide and county-specific level.