By Nancy Holt As the New York City budget cycle ramps up, the need for near-term fiscal balance often leads to decisions that are costly, economically and socially, in the long run. Put another way, it’s generally cheaper to help than to harm, but the budget process is geared toward…

By Vaishali Talwar & Nancy Holt Climate change seriously upped its impact this year in New York City. Hurricane Ida produced historic rainfall and flooding, which triggered flash flood warnings across all five boroughs for the first time ever and caused at least 13 fatalities in the city itself. In…

By Nancy Holt Next week, governments will again convene through United Nations-hosted talks to discuss plans for collective international climate action. For individuals personally invested in the climate crisis but not the negotiations themselves, it can be hard to understand how you can make a difference (Stop traveling to see…

By Chris Guevara and Nancy Holt The New York City Public School — the largest school district in the United States — is heading to the start of the school year once again with rising COVID-19 cases. One serious, but not frequently discussed impact of the pandemic on low-income students…

By Sara Lind, with research and Contributions by Tiara R. Ahmad, PhD For several years, perhaps the foremost issue in New York City politics was homelessness. But for all the talk, not much has been done. In fact, things have in some significant ways only been getting worse. Housing is…

By Nancy Holt, PhD In conversation with a colleague I asked, “How does anything get done in NYC?” He suggested I read The Power Broker, a biography the prolific, ruthless builder — Robert Moses. In fits and starts, I finally made it through the 600k+ word epic. …

By Nancy Holt, PhD Over the years of leading Science for New York (Sci4NY), I’ve had a number of frank conversations with graduate students in the sciences about the challenges they’ve faced in their research positions. …

By Nancy Holt, PhD Science has an opinion problem. Namely, there’s almost nowhere to publish them. More high-profile scientific magazines should consider accepting op-eds in the same format and style commonly used by newspapers. Opinion pieces are an important tool for generating public discourse on key issues. They fill a…

Nancy Holt, PhD Scientists are expressing a growing interest in working with local communities. Effective engagement at this level can present a number of challenges. In support of these endeavors, I am sharing observations and lessons learned through the initiative I lead called Science for New York (Sci4NY). …