Planning for the Recovery: Restarting NYC's Economy in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic

*If you have trouble accessing the replay of the event, please contact Stephanie at sarevalo@nycfuture.org. To view the replay of this forum, you can use the link in the same email you used to access the forum originally, or request a new link be sent above.

New York now faces the monumental task of protecting public health amid the coronavirus pandemic while mitigating the enormous economic pain of a near-total shutdown. But in the weeks and months ahead, city and state policymakers and economic development officials will need to start taking the crucial steps to restart the city’s economy and plan for a long-term recovery. This forum explored what should be done.

Our forward-looking discussion dove into the strategies, policies, and investments needed to reignite the city’s economy, restore critical industries that have been seriously damaged during this crisis, put New Yorkers back to work, ensure that the recovery is inclusive, and strengthen parts of the economy that may prove resilient to future challenges. Drawing from hands-on personal experience, the panelists examined what can be learned from how New York and other cities responded to previous recessions and how those lessons should shape the city's recovery in 2020 and beyond.

Speakers included:

• Shaun Donovan, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, where he helped oversee the Obama administration’s response to the Great Recession
• Winston C. Fisher, Co-Chair, NYC Regional Economic Development Council, the state-level economic development body for NYC; Partner, Fisher Brothers
• Joyce Moy, executive director of CUNY’s Asian American/Asian Research Institute; former founding executive director of the Small Business Development Center at LaGuardia Community College, which was created to help small businesses affected by economic crisis after 9/11
• Seth Pinsky, CEO of 92nd Street Y and former president of the NYC Economic Development Corporation, where he helped oversee NYC’s economic recovery during the Great Recession
• Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City, which developed the blueprint for restoration of the economy in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack