On June 1, 2007, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and the Center for New York City Affairs convened activist political leaders and leading opinion makers for part one in our series, “Urban Conversations: Strengthening the Middle Class.”
 The day’s discussions featured Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, DC, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and others.
This program was broadcast live on The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, New York Public Radio, 93.9 FM / AM 820. You can listen to it online on www.wnyc.org.
Watch the video
Listen to the radio broadcast
Read the transcript
The event received both local and national press coverage. Links to the articles are below.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Newsday
New York magazine
The New York Sun
Conference details and description are below.
Urban Conversations: Strengthening the Middle Class
As income disparity between wealthy and working-class families becomes more pronounced, middle-class neighborhoods are disappearing from many American cities. How are today’s urban leaders trying to ensure their cities remain—or become—livable for middle-income families and affordable for the millions of working people aspiring to gain a foothold in the middle class?
Friday, June 1, 2007, 8:00–11:00 a.m.
Arnhold Hall
Theresa Lang Community and Student Center
55 West 13th Street (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues), 2nd floor
New York City
PROGRAM
8:00 a.m. to 8:25 a.m.
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Program
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Dean Fred P. Hochberg, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy
WELCOMING REMARKS
Hon. Christine Quinn, Speaker, New York City Council
CONVERSATION I:
Livable Cities for the Urban Middle Class
SPEAKERS:
Hon. Adrian Fenty, Mayor of Washington, DC
Hon. Shirley Franklin, Mayor of Atlanta, GA
Ester Fuchs, Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science, Columbia University, and former Special Advisor to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Hon. Thomas R. Suozzi, County Executive, Nassau County, NY
MODERATOR:
Brian Lehrer, WNYC, New York Public Radio
CONVERSATION II:
A Viable New York for Working Families
SPEAKERS:
Dan Cantor, Executive Director, Working Families Party
Nicole Gelinas, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute, and contributing editor, City Journal
Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Executive Director, Drum Major Institute for Public Policy
Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development, City of New York
MODERATOR:
Brian Lehrer, WNYC, New York Public Radio
Urban Conversations is co-sponsored by Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and the Center for New York City Affairs. The project brings together local and state elected officials and leading thinkers from across the nation to foster fresh perspectives and new insights into the key challenges facing urban America, and to discuss strategies for addressing them. This conversation is the first in our Strengthening the Middle Class series.
The 2007 Urban Conversations conference and scholarship fund have been made possible thanks to the generous support of:
Allen & Company, Lillian Vernon, James A. Torrey, and the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation.
Also see:
URBAN CONVERSATIONS: Cities at Risk
URBAN CONVERSATIONS: Strengthening the Middle Class Session II: Creating Jobs & Raising Incomes |
