‘To a Better City’: City Limits’ Gala Recap

City Limits celebrates it’s 46th anniversary this year, and marked the milestone at our annual fundraiser gala last month, where honoring several prominent New Yorkers. If you missed the festivities, you can still support the cause this Giving Tuesday.

City Limits turns 46 this year. Last month, we marked the milestone with a gala event where we honored several prominent New Yorkers who were inducted into the City Limits’ Hall of Fame for their contributions to the city’s civic sector.

Those honorees included journalist Errol Louis, host of Spectrum News NY1’s essential politics show “Inside City Hall,” who spoke of the vital role local news plays in informing residents and keeping the wheels of democracy turning.

“You cannot leave it up to the candidate, you cannot leave it up to the political clubs. You cannot leave it up to the elections that pop up every other year,” Louis said in his remarks. “We’ve got to do it all the time. And we’ve got to do it with groups like City Limits that help keep the pipeline going, keep the information flowing, and make sure that we get to a better city.”

More highlights and photos from the event are below. If you missed the festivities, you can still support the cause this Giving Tuesday: all donations to City Limits up to $1,000 will be generously matched by NewsMatch from now until the end of the year.

Fellow honoree Shaun Donovan, a longtime housing policy expert and currently a senior fellow at the Ford Foundation, said City Limits has long been the “bible” for those who “worship at the church of housing and community development.”

“In a moment when truth is relative, in a moment when we get our news in pithy sound bites that are much better at saying what doesn’t work, rather than talking about what works, that leave all nuance out of the conversation—City Limits is a place that we can still go to, to learn and to understand what it really takes to make a difference. That’s why I’m proud to be here.”

Ester Fuchs, director of Urban & Social Policy at Columbia University and a former Bloomberg administration advisor, spoke of the challenges New York City leaders are currently facing and the importance of strong public service journalism in holding them to their promises.

“New Yorkers have elected a new mayor who must make difficult political decisions, restore not only basic services, but the people’s faith that government can get things done. And he will have to demonstrate a deep understanding of how to manage in the public interest He will have to engage every community and every neighborhood organization to succeed,” she said. “And extraordinary journalists as well, like those at City Limits, will have to help the public to hold the mayor and all our elected officials accountable.”

Honoree Lisette Nieves, president at the Fund for the City of New York, used her remarks to reflect on how her upbringing in New York City shaped her pursuit of a career in public service, and the role that longtime residents have played in pushing for better conditions and policies.

“If it wasn’t for living in central Flatbush, in the heart of the Caribbean and Puerto Rican community, in one of the worst buildings, where everybody decided to organize all these Black and brown families, I would not realize that we can control our own fate,” she said. “I learned early on, and especially from my family, that if it’s not there, you got to make it there.”

“The research, policy, advocacy and independent reporting that City Limits does every day makes New York a better place,” said Maggie Brunn, president of property management and real estate investment company A&E Real Estate, this year’s institutional gala honoree and one of the event’s presenting sponsors. “And it’s critical that we have outlets like City Limits, continuing to invest in deep analysis and thought leadership.”