Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani say child care is too expensive for New Yorkers, and want to beef up government programs so families with children who want help can get it.
“We are on a path to universal child care,” Hochul said.
But many plans would be expensive: estimated to cost billions of dollars statewide.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani say child care is too expensive for New Yorkers, and want to beef up government programs so families with children who want help can get it
- It will be a challenge for Hochul to come up with a solution without raising taxes or breaking the bank during an election year, while also handing Mamdani a political win
- Already, New York City offers free seats for four-year-olds — and most three-year-olds
- Mamdani wants the city to pay for babies’ care starting at six weeks until they’re five years old
“She’ll be the first one to tell you that it can’t happen overnight,” Blake Washington, the NYS Budget Director, said on Nov. 17 in Albany.
Families shell out tens of thousands of dollars per kid annually. Hochul already expanded a tax credit, spends billions on vouchers covering 170,000 kids up until age 13 and cuts bonus checks for workers.
Now, with an ally — and added pressure — from the popular Mayor-elect, she’s drafting a plan.
“Where can they come together to shift resources from lower impact uses to childcare, and how can they work together to do that?” Andrew Rein, president of the Citizens Budget Committee, said.
New York City already offers free seats for four-year-olds, and most three-year-olds. Mamdani wants the city to pay for babies’ care starting at six weeks until they’re five years old.
The price tag? $6 billion annually.
“Maybe partnering with businesses. Maybe tax credits. You have to decide how much money you have to put into it. What’s the most cost effective way to serve people in need,” Rein said.
Counties outside the five boroughs have programs, many with waitlists. Many parents pay out of pocket or rely on family help.
Now, Hochul wants the state to set up universal care for two-year-olds and phase it in: first targeting lower income kids. Her goal is free statewide care until age five, sources say.
“Most families are like one event away from financial ruin because they have not been able to put money into their savings account because of the cost of childcare. Right? 40% of families are in debt because the cost of child care,” Reshma Saujani, CEO of the advocacy group Mom’s First, said. “It costs $40,000 for childcare for one child, which is more than your rent, your mortgage or your college tuition.”
Pitching national lawmakers, and now Hochul, Saujani says federal and state tax credits must be maximized by companies.
“Whether they’re providing childcare subsidies for their employees, whether they’re providing backup care, whether they’re building child care centers, right? They’re engaged in this conversation,” Saujani said.
“We brought business leaders to Congress to speak to both Democrats and Republicans on why investment, public investment and federal investment in child care was critical,” she added.
Estimated to eventually cost $15 billion across all 62 counties, Robert Mujica, formerly New York’s budget director under Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, says it’s doable without new taxes.
“There are ways to phase these programs in. You can phase them in. Based on geography, based on eligibility, based on age — the state has done that before and has been able to expand programs without necessarily raising taxes,” Mujica said.
“If we have new initiatives that we want to fund, how do we find those resources within the growth that’s normally going to happen within the bridge and that has been done before. It’s been done with pre-K, the city went ahead with 3-K,” he added.
