As we gear up for the mayoral election, Bill Lipton, the former Lead Organizer and Organizing Director of The Working Families Party, shares how the party in its early days defied the status quo, how he and his team learned to make effective change by working across party lines and how politicians at every level of government -- even the new mayor -- can prioritize affordability AND climate politics in the coming year. For more solutions-oriented thinking on urban life, visit the Vital City website at https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/.

In 2019 the storied violence at Riker's Island was its way to being a thing of the past. Fast forward to today: not only is the jail still in full swing, but the violence, mismanagement and deaths at Rikers are perhaps worse than ever. The mayoral election is just two weeks away, and both Cuomo and Mamdani have shared their vision for the future of Rikers. Jamie talks to Liz Glazer, founder of Vital City, justice advisor under Mayor Bill DeBlasio and former federal prosecutor, to understand how we got here and what the Riker's might look like under a new administration. For more solutions-oriented thinking on urban life, visit the Vital City website at https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/.

This year's mayoral election has the potential to fix the housing crisis in New York City. Of course, there are the candidates themselves, but more importantly, there are the ballot questions. Four out of the six questions, which were carefully written by The Charter Revision Commission, aim to make housing more affordable and accessible throughout the entire city. Jamie sits down with Leila Bozorg, Secretary of the Commission and Executive Director of Housing for the Mayor's Office, to dissect these questions and help listeners decide how to vote. For more solutions-oriented thinking on urban life, visit the Vital City website at https://www.vitalcitynyc.org/.

For the past few weeks, rumors have surrounded Mayor Eric Adams and his potential resignation. Is he going to leave office early? Will he work for the Trump administration? Can his voter base really keep Mamdani from becoming the mayor of New York? Jamie and award-winning journalist and Executive Director of Citizens Union Grace Rauh pick apart these rumors and examine what this race says about the state of democracy in NYC.

Almost everyone agrees that New York City needs more housing — and that building housing here takes too long and costs too much. New York Magazine architecture critic Justin Davidson wants to remind us that one thing we shouldn't cut corners on is good design. Jamie and Justin talk about what architects really mean when they say “design,” and how good design and abundant housing are closely related.

Cara Eckholm discusses how innovative construction techniques can cut costs — and what their limitations are.

In this "emergency" episode, Jamie reflects on Trump's Reconciliation Package -- aka the "one big beautiful bill" -- and predicts how the bill might pit the clean energy industry against America's poor and working-class citizens.

You couldn't have missed it — on Tuesday, June 25, state assembly member Zohran Mamdani won the New York primary, beating favored contender and former governor Andrew Cuomo by 12 points. Everyone and their mother has an explanation for what happened and what a Mamdani mayoral administration would look like. But none have quite the perspective of Bradley Tusk, political strategist and founder of Tusk Strategies. Prior to his current role, Bradley served as deputy governor of Illinois, campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg, and communications director for Chuck Schumer. Jamie and Bradley sit down to recap the race and share why they think Zohran Mamdani could succeed as mayor.

Harvard economist Ed Glaeser and Yale Law School state and local government law professor David Schleicher don’t always agree when it comes to New York politics, but on this mayoral election they do: among the 11 candidates in the crowded field, they insist, most aren’t saying much of anything. Jamie, Ed and David run down this cycle’s policy platforms — the most overplayed, the worst, and, somewhere in the mix, the ones that might just have a shot at doing a lot of good for New York City.

Why don't more businesspeople run for mayor of America's biggest city? Host Jamie Rubin and political commentator Ross Barkan discuss who's not on the ballot in the 2025 mayoral race and why. They analyze Mike Bloomberg's formula for political and managerial success while dissecting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's comeback attempt. In a thought experiment, they game out exactly how a wealthy outsider might spend $100 million to capture City Hall in a wide-open race. And Barkan delivers a brutal assessment: The current mayor, he estimates, has a 5% chance of survival in what may be the most consequential election in decades.

City Council candidate Maya Kornberg, running in a district that's been represented by Bill de Blasio, Brad Lander and now Shahana Hanif, discusses her race — and what she thinks connects it to larger local and national trends. She argues that many constituents feel unheard — a problem she says she would address through mobile district offices and continuous engagement. She also argues that today's divisive political climate, while troubling, isn't unprecedented for American democracy.

Housing advocate and Open New York Executive Director Annemarie Gray argues that scarcity drives New York's housing crisis, with restrictive zoning and ULURP processes empowering local opposition to block development. She reveals how both Republican states and progressive Democratic cities outpace New York in housing reform, despite recent wins like "City of Yes" legislation. Annemarie advocates for balancing tenant protections with increased supply and discusses her organization's push for the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act, which would allow religious organizations to build affordable housing on their underutilized properties.

Nonprofit legal expert Sean Delany discusses unprecedented agreements between the Trump administration and major law firms pledging $125 million each in pro bono services for administration-selected causes. These vaguely defined arrangements could significantly reduce legal resources for traditional nonprofits serving disadvantaged communities while potentially violating established pro bono standards and creating a chilling effect on attorney participation.

A revealing conversation about power, politics and the future of New York City with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. We dive deep into his campaign for city comptroller — an office responsible for managing $280 billion in pension funds, overseeing city contracts and providing crucial checks on mayoral power — and his vision for leveraging the office's substantial powers to tackle New York's affordability crisis. With Manhattan rents rising to an average of $5,300 monthly and vacancy rates at historic lows, Levine reveals his strategy to finance desperately needed affordable housing through pension fund investments. Plus, he makes the case for universal childcare as a $2 billion investment that could transform family economics across the five boroughs.

In this podcast episode, American urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter critically examines the "nonprofit industrial complex", arguing that many social service organizations perpetuate systemic problems rather than solving them. She highlights how current nonprofit models often trap communities in poverty, using ineffective top-down approaches that prioritize maintaining the organization over creating meaningful change. Drawing from personal experience and broader research, she challenges listeners to reconsider how philanthropic efforts address social issues, advocating for more peer-based, community-driven interventions that genuinely empower marginalized populations.

While many of New York’s essential services are run through nonprofit contracts, 90% of City payments to those nonprofits were late last year. In response, many nonprofits are on the brink of closing their doors. There’s a structural problem: it’s hard to build unified nonprofit power because many nonprofits are small and can be quite different from each other. John MacIntosh has a solution — actually, several. As managing partner of SeaChange Capital Partners, he leads a team that provides a suite of affordable services to nonprofits, including business advisory and bespoke financing for the sector. On this episode of After Hours, we talk about the work he is doing now to support nonprofits, and what the City and private players can do to support this sector that supports so many New Yorkers.

The current administration announced plans to cut funding for disaster relief. The cuts include budget and personnel at FEMA and HUD's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. Drawing from his experience building and leading the New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery after Superstorm Sandy, Jamie explains how losing these agencies will be devastating for communities across the country hit by catastrophic natural disasters.

In this inaugural episode of Vital City After Hours, host Jamie Rubin and producer Molly introduce their new podcast focused on New York City governance and policy. The main segment features Harvard economist Ed Glaeser discussing corruption, regulation and procurement in New York City. Glaeser explains that public procurement, which represents a staggering 15% of global GDP, has a major influence on infrastructure costs. He argues that New York's strict anti-corruption rules may actually be counterproductive, and that the city can learn from systems like Singapore’s, which gives procurement officials more discretion while maintaining strong accountability safeguards. Jamie Rubin, chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, reflects on the procurement challenges NYCHA faces, and how they compare to the programs Glaeser studies. The episode concludes with key takeaways about government capacity, the unique challenges of older cities, and how New York's complexities stem from its ambitious attempts to serve its people — themes that set the tone for future “After Hours” discussions about how New York City really works, and how we can help it work even better.