Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

the Manhattan Institute

the Manhattan Institute

  • Top Charter School Advocate on the Controversial Sector’s Strengths and Weaknesses

    gov attends charter

    (photo: the governor's office)


    James Merriman has been involved in the charter school movement in New York since its inception 20 years ago, first as the general counsel for the Charter Schools Institute and now, for the last 12 years, as CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, a leading charter school advocacy and resource group.

    “My parents were both professors. I thought I was going to be a professor. It’s all anybody did in my house,” Merriman said in ...

  • What's The [Data] Point? 2,268, 'Deinstitutionalization' in New York

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 61 - 2,268, 'Deinstitutionalization' in New York, with Stephen Eide of the Manhattan Institute [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    wtdp stephen eide

    Stephen Eide, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, is the author of ...

  • ‘Open The Books’ Site Tracks Government Spending, Aims to Reduce Waste

    Adam Andrzejewski

    Adam Andrzejewski (photo: The Manhattan Institute)


    Illinois-based businessman and one-time candidate for Governor of that state, Adam Andrzejewski, boasts of running the “world’s largest private repository of public spending” with 3.5 billion individually captured government expenditures. Andrzejewski is the CEO and founder of OpenTheBooks.com, an online transparency tool launched by his nonpartisan, nonprofit group, aptly named American Transparency, with the stated goals of reducing waste in government

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  • What To Do When The L Train Closes

    mta out of service

    Out of service (photo: MTA/Patrick Cashin)


    The denizens of Williamsburg and Bushwick have responded to news of potential multiyear L train closures with a mix of shock, despair, and irritation. People are talking through the alternatives: taking the G, J, and M trains; boarding the East River Ferry; or even (gasp!) riding the bus. Quite likely Williamsburgers will also summon a swarm of UberPools and Lyft Lines unlike any seen in our time.

    Hysterics aside, it’s unlikely that the MTA would do a full, year-long

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