Publications | The Charles H. Revson Foundation

All of the publications listed below were produced with the support of the Foundation, and we hope they will be of interest to our grantees and partners.

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Prying Open the Vault

The local journalism business model of the past, predicated on profitable advertising revenue and paying daily readers, has dissolved. From 2000 to 2020, newspapers lost about 81% of their advertising revenue, much of it to social media platforms. Since 2005, over 25% of local news outlets—2,200—have shuttered. Fifty percent of local reporting jobs are gone. The ongoing consolidation of the local press by hedge funds and private equity firms, focused on maximizing shareholders’ profits, has hastened this decline. These firms control at least 50% of daily news outlets, with no clear path to profitability other than cost-cutting.
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Promoting Freedom of Information in New York: How Public Policy Can Support Journalism in the Public Interest

As the unrelenting business crisis of the press nears the end of its second decade, and even as critical philanthropic intervention accelerates, it is increasingly clear that public policies that enhance independent journalism will be a necessary component of the societal response to the decline of legacy news outlets.

One area that has received too little attention is the dysfunction of the nation’s freedom of information laws…
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New Yorkers for Parks 1% Impact Report

New York City has some of the most iconic parks in the world. Residents fortunate enough to live near these parks, and visitors taking a stroll through Central Park, marveling at the High Line, or people watching along the water at Brooklyn Bridge Park might assume that all our parks are managed by robust teams of parks workers keeping these special places looking clean and beautiful. However, unlike these parks, the vast majority of New York City’s 1,700+ parks rely solely on city funding, and their conditions and experience couldn’t be more different.
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High Impact Low Cost: How the PLSF.nyc “Pop Up” Nonprofit Moved Billions In Loan Forgiveness

Philanthropists, policymakers, and nonprofit leaders alike are constantly seeking to maximize their social impact — improving the lives of as many people as possible by making use of limited resources as effectively as possible. PSLF.nyc, a “pop-up” nonprofit, launched in June 2022 for a limited time frame of five months, did exactly that, achieving a remarkable return on investment.
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Settlement Houses GET OUT THE VOTE! 2021 Report

For the past century, UNH and our member settlement houses have fought for progressive change and social justice.
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Branches to Recovery

Libraries are already among the city’s largest and most trusted providers of programs and services aligned with New Yorkers’ greatest needs. With a clear citywide strategy and a new level of investment, their impact could be even greater.

Center for an Urban Future – 2021
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How to Fix the New York City Board of Elections

New York City’s unique election administration practices and structure promote dysfunction. The Brennan Center has solutions.

Let NY Vote/Brennan Center for Justice – New York University School of Law – 2021
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Stretching New York City’s Capital Dollars

Investing in libraries, parks, and other social infrastructure will be essential to the city’s recovery, but inefficiencies that plague the capital construction process have led to unacceptable cost inflation. This report details how reforming this process could help the city potentially save hundreds of millions of dollars while enabling continued support for vital social infrastructure.

John Surico/Center for an urban Futue – 2021
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Out of Print : The Case for Philanthropic Support for Local Journalism in a Time of Market Upheaval

This report explores the current landscape of local journalism, with a particular focus on the role that philanthropy could play in revitalizing the field.

Tony Proscio/Duke University – 2018
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The Opportunity Fund: 2011 – 2015

A narrative research paper offering a retrospective look at The Opportunity Fund, 2011 – 2015.

Gidron Consultants/The Opportunity Fund – 2017
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Slow Build

This report finds significant problems with NYC’s process for managing capital construction projects for libraries and cultural institutions, with the median capital project taking more than four years and costing roughly twice as much as a new office building. The study, a collaboration between CUF and the Citizens Budget Commission, puts forth recommendations for creating a more cost-efficient capital construction process for libraries, cultural groups and other nonprofit organizations.

Eli Dvorkin, Maria Doulis, Jonathan Bowles/Center for an Urban Future – 2017
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More Time in the Stacks: Library Hours in NYC Still Lag Behind Other Big Cities

Center for an Urban Future’s third annual assessment of library hours compares New York City’s public libraries with library systems in the nation’s ten largest cities and New York State’s ten largest counties. Although New York City’s branch libraries are now open significantly more hours per week than at any point in the past decade, NYC’s libraries are still open fewer hours than most of the largest library systems in the nation and large New York State counties.

Jonathan Bowles, Avril Koblitz/Center for an Urban Future – 2017
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Not by the Book

This report is an in-depth look into the Revson Foundation’s work in the struggle to revive New York City’s branch libraries, from 2008-2015.

Tony Proscio/Duke University – 2016
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Library Times Are A-Changin

The Center for and Urban Future’s second annual assessment of library hours in New York shows that 40 percent more branch libraries in NYC are open at least six days a week than this time last year. But while city libraries are open an average of 4 hours more per week than a year ago, they still lag behind many of the largest library systems in the state and nation in hours of operation.

Jonathan Bowles/Center for an Urban Future – 2016
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Libraries Teach Tech: Building Skills for a Digital World

This new data brief finds that NYC’s public libraries are playing an increasingly important role in helping New Yorkers develop the technology skills needed in today’s economy. It shows that the city’s libraries provided tech training to more than 150,000 New Yorkers in 2015, an 81 percent increase from just three years earlier.

Jonathan Bowles/Center for an Urban Future – 2016
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Library Funding is Behind the Times

Though visits, book circulation and program attendance are on the rise, New York City’s public libraries are open fewer hours than the state’s largest counties and trail behind cities throughout the nation.

Center for an Urban Future – 2015
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NYC Libraries By The Numbers

Despite declining funds and limited hours of service, New York City’s public libraries are seeing a surge in users and uses. Below we show where the growth is happening and how funding cuts in recent years have affected performance, and provide the city’s first branch-by-branch accounting of book circulation, program attendance and visits.

David Giles/Center for an Urban Future – 2015
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Re-envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries

While more New Yorkers than ever are using the city’s public libraries, a significant share of the branches suffer from major physical defects and are poorly configured for how New Yorkers are using libraries today. This report provides a comprehensive blueprint for bringing these vital community institutions into the 21st Century.

David Giles/Center for an Urban Future – 2014
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Symposium for Re-Envisioning New York’s Branch Libraries

On December 4, 2014, CUF convened a dynamic conference for rethinking and re-imagining New York City’s branch libraries. Organized by CUF in collaboration with The Architectural League of New York and the Charles H. Revson Foundation, CUF invited six interdisciplinary teams to present innovative design solutions for the challenges facing branch libraries and curated response panels with key officials from the de Blasio administration and City Council, as well as other distinguished community leaders, developers and policy experts.

Center for an Urban Future – 2014
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A Report for WNYC to the Revson Foundation

This report examines and documents: the results of WNYC’s collaborations and partnerships from 2010-2013; the changes, transitions, challenges and opportunities that WNYC’s integration of broadcast and digital have brought, especially with an eye to the station’s increased capacity for local public affairs reporting; and the impact of these change on WNYC’s ability to expand and deepen its local coverage and to increase engagement from users and listeners, especially in under-‐reported and underserved areas of the city and beyond.

Brooke Kroeger/WNYC – 2013
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Branches of Opportunity

New York City’s public libraries are serving more people in more ways than ever before, and have become an increasingly critical part of the city’s human capital system; but they have been undervalued by policymakers and face growing threats in today’s digital age.

David Giles/Center for an Urban Future – 2013
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The Reconstruction of American Journalism

This report looks at the trajectory and potential new horizons of American journalism at a pivotal moment in time.

Leonard Downie, Jr., Michael Schudson/Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism – 2009