Reflections on public policy topics
My Daughter Was Gut-Punched at School, and the Bully’s Still Out There
It was the last week of her junior year at an intense high school in NYC. In three days she was driving to Pennsylvania where she’d be working for the next six weeks. My daughter panicked when she got the cryptic message from her teacher. The next 48 hours were a spiral of emotions for all of us.
9/11 at Grand & Essex
In honor of the 25th anniversary, my friend and colleague Carol Lin, the former CNN reporter who first broke the news of the attacks on 9/11/2001 asks: Where were you when you heard the news and how did it affect your life thereafter? Read the collection in her Substack: When News Breaks
Losing Franks
In August 2025, I stopped by to have my bike checked before bringing it upstate. While waiting for Frank to finish with a customer, I overheard him say he was ready to call it quits - thanks in part to skyrocketing business taxes.
Read about beloved icon, Frank Arroyo and what he gave the neighborhood in Exasperated Infrastructures, my friend and colleague Sam Sklar’s cheeky but informative Substack on (mostly) urban transportation.
Fixing the 3-5 Care Gap
Working while parenting is no longer an either or for most of us while opting out of parenthood is becoming more common. I know we need more afterschool spots, especially in under-resourced neighborhoods. We also need a unified early childcare and education system that bridges the gaps between 3pm and 5pm. What I’ve learned about the system through experience and research explained in my piece published in City Limits.
Abandoned by government. Saved by humanity.
While more families are struggling with basic living expenses, our nonprofit organizations who are often the lifelines for affordable food and rent, are under intense pressure to meet growing needs with major reductions in federal support.
But there is hope in the collective consciousness of individuals who donate money and time because they care about their communities’ survival. Nonprofits are also demonstrating resilience in new ways to consider their viability.
No Cost Solutions to Improve NYC's Emotional Health
By listening to 40 community service providers, our research surfaced resources and suggestions that, with good leadership and strategic thinking, can be implemented at little to no cost.