Welcome to Crain’s Forum, a monthly deep dive into the big economic and public-policy issues that are shaping the future of New York City.

Building owners and managers share strategies for slashing greenhouse gas emissions to comply with the city's ambitious climate law set to begin in 2024.

Flipping the switch on greener buildings

The most pressing questions about Local Law 97

Brooklyn-based Kelvin pitches building owners on a novel way to lower energy costs

Op-ed: City’s Local Law 97 policy does not reflect science

Op-ed: Local Law 97 offers ‘pathways’ to green affordable housing

The cryptocurrency’s industry epic meltdown in 2022 has given way to a battle with government regulators in 2023. As a global financial hub and the first state to regulate crypto, New York is primed to have a leading role in the legal battles that could reshape the industry.

After hosting the crypto party, New York is in the middle of the cleanup

A beginner’s guide to crypto and where it stands in New York

With crypto no longer tech’s hot sector, startup workers weigh other opportunities

In the Markets: New York shouldn’t lose faith in the crypto industry

Op-ed: States must protect their turf in policing crypto alongside the SEC

Op-ed: Regulating digital assets would be better than banning them

Op-ed: Crypto requires novel guardrails due to its unique challenges

The city and state dish out a combined $10 billion in tax breaks and subsidies every year, to less than 1% of corporate taxpayers. The public payoff to those deals is murky at best.

The tax zombies of New York

The aggressive lobbying that keeps New York’s zombie tax breaks in place

Op-ed: Rigorous data should show where incentives work best

Op-ed: Albany budget giveaways aggravate income inequality in New York

Op-ed: Freeze NY Democrats’ misguided love affair with trickle-down economics

Op-ed: Albany budget giveaways aggravate income inequality in New York

The city experienced a 56% drop in the number of new immigrants over the past three years. The resulting labor shortage has played out across the economy as a silent headwind to a city that relies on foreign workers.

A 56% drop in immigration is hampering New York’s recovery

Op-ed: Let’s reform permit rules so migrants can get to work

Op-ed: It pays to invest in entrepreneurial immigrants

Op-ed: Foreign-born workers can build enviable careers in construction

Op-ed: The city depends on immigrants to succeed, so let’s invest in immigrants’ success

The state's recreational cannabis industry is just starting to get off the ground, with multiple players eyeing how to break in and make money. Smoke shops are popping up on seemingly every corner, and medical marijuana dispensaries are holding on to prime real estate as both await what they hope will be their turn in the licensing process.

Major hurdles remain for New York’s recreational marijuana market, but stakeholders remain optimistic

Potency tax could be a major buzzkill for sanctioned cannabis retailers

As recreational sales start, medical marijuana firms are left warming the bench

First cannabis dispensary from social equity applicant launches downtown

Op-ed: The confusion and frustration surrounding New York’s retail rollout will be short-lived

Op-ed: NY's cannabis market isn't moving too slowly — it's on a mission

Op-ed: State faces daunting task of addressing needs, defining success in the legal cannabis market

Op-ed: New York’s legal cannabis industry must be accessible to the Latino community

This series was produced through a partnership with Green Market Report, a New York-based organization covering financial and economic news in the cannabis industry. Green Market Report is a subsidiary of Crain Communications.

Find all the Forum's "NYC Cannabis Market" coverage here.

Three downstate casino licenses are up for grabs next year. The financial estimates are spectacular and real estate titans are clamoring to win the state's favor.

Real estate titans are lining up for the city’s golden ticket — casino licenses

Casino licenses are no sure bet for the state’s coffers

Op-ed: Here’s why downstate casinos would be good for New York

Op-ed: Do the benefits of casinos outweigh the societal costs? History says no

Art is universal, but the art market is centered in New York, where nearly half of all auctions are held and world-renowned museums hold court on a global stage.

The phenomenal fall of an art market phenom

New York museums must label Nazi-looted art

Investor scramble boosts values for collectibles from diamonds to baseball cards

Op-ed: As art fraud and theft become more sophisticated, so has the FBI’s response

Op-ed: How to clean up the art market? Not necessarily with more regulation

Outer-borough districts in New York bounce back as residents have a new appreciation for playing, dining and doing business close to home.

The entrepreneur next door

Businesses don't need a Manhattan address anymore

Op-ed: The city is working on updating its processes to put small business first

Op-ed: It's us (all five boroughs) against the world

New York remains vulnerable to flooding a decade after Sandy as resilience initiatives plod along

Treading water

How business owners can prepare for flooding and climate change

More than half a million city properties are at risk of flooding

Op-ed: The state needs to take a bigger role in crafting climate strategy, planning

Op-ed: Green infrastructure is flooding's kryptonite

Op-ed: Climate change is here—let's design and retrofit now

Crush of cars inspires a fresh look at parking permits to ease congestion

Stuck in park

How parking placard abuse became such a problem

Can’t find a street spot? Don’t blame the city

Demand for parking spaces fuels growth for city’s garage operators

Op-ed: Abuse of government-issued parking placards needs to stop

Op-ed: New York is lagging behind international cities when it comes to traffic policy

Op-ed: Making parking more accessible and affordable will speed NYC's recovery

Op-ed: To jump-start NYC’s recovery, start with our streets

Capturing tax proceeds from property gains along the Second Ave. subway expansion could help fund the next phase of the Q

Soaring property values near subway extension point to a new MTA funding model

Second Avenue Subway steams ahead as major funding questions remain

Op-ed: To fund transit projects, we have a mechanism that works

Op-ed: Fund better transit with real capital dollars, not schemes

Op-ed: Tax-increment financing rarely works as planned

With pandemic-related learning loss ongoing, city schools face the future

Picking up the pieces

Community organization absorbs Covid-era shocks

CUNY experiments with programs for nondegree, employment-focused students

Op-ed: How the school system can support immigrant children

Op-ed: Learning acceleration, not remediation, is essential for students to move forward

Op-ed: Exposing high school students to college-level courses—and enabling them to earn credits—is a path to financial success

Op-ed: Making sure every student learns to read: What happens next?

Behind the arguments for and against an extra levy on the wealthy’s second homes in the city

Taxed Shelter

The second homes of the rich and famous

International buyers lead the way in snapping up pricey pieds-à-terre

Op-ed: A pied-à-terre Levy could help deliver long-sought property tax reform

Op-ed: It’s time for anonymous LLCs to come out from the shadows

Op-ed: The resurgence of the market for pied-à-terre is good for New York—let’s not impede it

As New York congregations dwindle, air rights become more valuable to churches—and to developers building into the heavens

Salvation in the sky

Centuries-old congregation collects $70M for its crumbling church and four adjacent brownstones

Op-ed: Congregations can live to pray another day through hyper-use of sacred space

Op-ed: Devil is in the details for church air-rights transfers

Op-ed: Religious landmarks in New York deserve public and private support

City lawmakers & hospital executives have touted consolidation as a solution to cut costs and increase the quality of health care. Instead, this strategy has given rise to increasingly flush megasystems of hospitals concentrated in whiter, wealthier areas

As New York closes hospitals to cut costs, communities of color pay the price

Residents of the Rockaways face higher cancer rates, few treatment options

City’s crisis response to Covid-19 helped shrink a health equity divide, but progress has proved fleeting

Op-ed: Here's how we create a more equitable Medicaid program

Op-ed: Let's invest in community health

Op-ed: We need more Black doctors and clinicians

Op-ed: Reducing disparities worsened by the pandemic

New York City is a lively and appealing place to live and work. It’s also a city that has come up woefully short at providing its people housing that’s affordable and livable. How can we do better as a community at providing housing?

Failure to plan: New York is alone among major cities in lacking a comprehensive housing strategy

Set aside the debate over NIMBY vs. YIMBY

City’s use of income statistics skews ‘affordable’ range

The city’s most contentious affordable housing program could be getting a makeover

Op-ed: We need a collaborative approach to accelerate residential conversions

Op-ed: We don’t need to choose between robust tenant protections and abundant affordable housing

Op-ed: Replacement housing program must redefine ‘affordable’ to help low-income New Yorkers

Op-ed: No housing lottery can work when the fundamental issue is a lack of affordable units

Op-ed: Programs like 421-a are critical for creating affordable housing and increasing equity in neighborhoods across the city