This report, a special supplement to "Now is the Time," is part of an ongoing analysis of U.S. cities and their economic health. It focuses on one vital economic region, the Northeast. Data from a number of sources reveal some key findings about the nine states of this economic region. Most cities in the Northeast are doing quite well, and unemployment is down in all central cities in the area. There has been significant economic change over the last generation, with shifts of jobs from manufacturing and other traditional strengths of the economy. The region is left with two economies, a disparity that results in an opportunity gap. The area contains vital assets for addressing this economic gap. Among these assets is a concentration of educational institutions that can give all communities access to the knowledge community, and a renewed workforce that includes diverse ethnicities and recent immigrants. Unacceptable unemployment remains in nearly 1 in 5 cities in the region, and steady population loss affects 4 in 10 central cities. Persistently high poverty rates have been evident in nearly 4 in 10 Northeast cities, and 1 in 6 Northeast cities faces the double trouble of high unemployment linked with population loss or high poverty or both. (Contains 14 tables, 6 figures, and 4 endnotes.) (SLD)