The Center for New York City Affairs was established in 1964 with a donation by Jacob M. Kaplan. Its first director was Howard David Samuel. The first courses were announced in 1965. In 1978, the degree-granting and teaching functions were transferred from the Center to the newly launched Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions (GSMUP), the first school of management at The New School. The Center retained responsibility for a continuing education program in urban affairs and the publication of City Almanac (a bi-monthly publication) and The Fiscal Observer (a bi-weekly publication). The Center celebrated it's fiftieth anniversary in 2015.