The proprietor of the first black-woman-owned cannabis dispensary: 'since they legalized cannabis, it’s literally an illegal shop on every block. I could go right now into the deli and get a chopped cheese and an eighth...They’re closing them down, and they open right back up.'…

As a housing deal comes into focus (or doesn't) in Albany, read Vicki Been and Ingrid Gould Ellen of NYU Wagner explaining why 'density need not be scary.' vitalcitynyc.org/articles/gentl…

And here, read Richard Kahlenberg on how housing restrictions promote education inequality.…

How many people go to church weekly?

Surveys say it's about 1 in 5 Americans.

Cell phone tracker data say it's actually closer to 1 in 20 Americans.

Fascinating new working paper!

nber.org/papers/w32334

Vital City's seventh issue, Does Evidence Matter?, is live online. vitalcitynyc.org/issues/issue-7
But these are precisely the kinds of essays you'll want to digest in print. So get yourself a copy of this very handsome journal. shop.vitalcitynyc.org/product/issue-7

As policymakers in Albany continue to craft a property tax exemption, it’s critical that leaders pay more attention to meeting the needs of lower-income families write Furman Center's Vicki Been, Matthew Murphy, and Mark Willis via New York Daily News buff.ly/3Q4AucS

This is our occasional reminder that you should sign up for Vital City's weekly newsletter, which will keep you abreast of what we're publishing about the life and livelihood of New York — as well as what our friends and partners are up to. vitalcitynyc.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2f…

Perhaps get out a pair of narrative handcuffs.

.Bill Hammond's health policy work @EmpireCenter has been invaluable in trying to understand the relevant NY budget & policy debates around Medicaid & more (& in preparing for this interview with Senate health chair Rivera) twitter.com/NYHammond/stat…

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end.

'The strengths and weaknesses of downtowns are highlighted by a recent survey of residents of 92 central business districts spanning 53 global cities by the architecture and planning firm Gensler.' bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

For New York Magazine, I wrote about the Rat Czar Kathleen Corradi after her first year on the job

It’s also about Eric Adams’s fight against rodents, his merry band of czars, and whether that’s a tool that works or not nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Love data? Interested in crime and justice? Fascinated by cities and how they work? Check out this new opening as Vital City’s research/analytics director. And please share with talented friends and colleagues.

vitalcitynyc.org/jobs

A source familiar w/ state budget negotiations says there's a leaders meeting tonight, but as of now: housing package still uncertain; deal more likely than not, but broad tentative framework still seeing significant negotiation of details, could fall apart as key parties balk.

Happening Monday morning - we'll get Deputy Mayor Maria TorresSpringer's insights into the developing housing deal in Albany & talk lots of housing policy >

There's a huge disconnect between how Americans feel about their own situation vs their view of the country.

60% view own economic situation as excellent/good
31% view nation's economic situation as excellent/good (Quinnipiac)

17% rate crime as extremely/very serious where they…

Thanks for sharing this, Jennifer.

Fentanyl is now almost certainly the biggest killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49. Economists may have at last found a convincing explanation for the crisis econ.st/3W0kU5J 👇

Read Harry Siegel on e-bike fires: vitalcitynyc.org/articles/e-bik…

Unsurprisingly, New York City has minimal access to nature as defined here. But we do have trees (and parks) and all that they bring; coverage varies a ton by neighborhood. See a map here: vitalcitynyc.org/articles/citie…