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.

“It's not a glamorous job, and it's not one where you're going to get rich. What we do behind the scenes in legislative offices most days is helping and working and interacting with the community.”

Amid mixed results to date, policymakers can insist on better implementation of New York’s discovery reform, provide prosecutors with whatever tools they need, and steadfastly avoid sacrificing the due process rights of people facing charges. This joint piece is a collaboration between two of CUNY’s preeminent research organizations to get us there.

Raising wages for human services workers not only is beneficial to those individuals; it is also a strategic policy intervention with far-reaching benefits for communities and the broader economy.

As New York City’s General Election approaches, we’re taking a closer look at the role of local government in NYC and the ways that community-based organizations can increase civic engagement in communities where voter turnout has historically been low.  

The Fellows will embed in local organizations for the next two years to develop strategies for empowering and uplifting the voices of Bronx community members in local elections.

Summer job reports show that human services and state and local government are among the fastest-hiring sectors. But many of these jobs lag behind in wage growth. Our analysis of New York State charts a path for policymakers and other leaders to create a pipeline of quality, sustainable public services.

“The folks behind the scenes are the majority of the people working in city politics. There's only 51 council members in New York City, but each council member has a team of 7 to 10 people. So now we're talking about hundreds of people that are advocating for constituents. It's an army of people who care.”