A weekend of clear thinking about what New York could become over the next century: its economy, its transit, and its streets.
The Retreat
A small gathering to think seriously and optimistically about New York's next hundred years.
What we'll discuss →A quiet lake house in Athens, NY: a calm place to think about a loud city.
See the venue →Short talks and long, open conversation. A discussion, not a conference of slide decks.
See topics →Rooms are free for invited guests. Email with your length of stay to request an invitation.
Email to join →Stops on the Line
The Economy Line
We'll discuss Jonathan's essay The Jagged Boom through the lens of New York: how uneven AI progress, astonishing successes beside embarrassing failures, reshapes the city's economy and everyday life, with real welfare gains that outrun measured GDP.
Read the essay ↗The Transit Line
Restore rail on the Rockaway Beach Branch, or pave it into a linear park? A real case study in the time horizons of public-transit paybacks, and how a city should weigh investments whose returns arrive decades after the ribbon-cutting.
QueensLink ↗The Autonomy Line
A once-in-a-century opening: as NYC transitions to self-driving cars, the vast acreage now devoted to parking gets freed up. What do we build with it: housing, parks, bike lanes, more public space? And how do we make sure we don't waste the moment?
In the Same Spirit