NYC Council renews calls for universal child care as mayor calls for budget cuts

Catalina Gonella

Published Sep 21, 2023

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Signs on display when City Council members introduced the legislation for universal childcare earlier this year.

John McCarten NYC Council Media Unit

Catalina Gonella

Published Sep 21, 2023

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A City Council committee renewed its commitments to overhauling the child care economy in New York City at a time when Mayor Eric Adams has called for billions in budget cuts to confront an ongoing migrant crisis.

The Women and Gender Equity Committee held a hearing Thursday on a five-page bill introduced in March that aims to establish high-quality universal child care to all children from 6 weeks to 5 years old, regardless of immigration status. Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, who chairs the committee, said the mayor’s impending budget cuts could potentially sink the proposal, rendering it an “aspirational document.”

“For too many District 22 residents, child care is unaffordable,” she said in a statement. “Especially for moms, who are disproportionately tasked with child care, this can mean getting locked out of the workforce and caught in a poverty trap. We need universal child care now.”

The hearing also comes just a week after a 1-year-old died after being exposed to fentanyl at a Bronx day care that had recently passed an inspection.

Adams signed a different package of child care bills in November, which laid out a blueprint to make child care and early education more accessible and affordable. In her testimony during the hearing, Office of Child Care Executive Director Dr. Michelle Paige provided updates on the city’s progress in the rollout of the bills passed last year, reporting that it is on track to meeting most of the goals laid out last year and fielding questions from the councilmembers. But Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez, who is sponsoring the new bill, said the administration’s current efforts don’t go far enough.

“The idea of a free public K-12 education was once seen as radical, but we now know it to be foundational for the success of our communities and economy. Universal child care is no different - and each day that passes without it harms providers, families, and our economy,” Gutiérrez said. “The existing system is deeply flawed, and while the administration’s efforts represent a step in the right direction, they fall short of the comprehensive transformation that is desperately needed by parents, providers, and our economy of care.”

The mayor earlier this month said all city agencies should cut spending by 5% beginning in November, and should prepare for further cuts in January and April as part of the upcoming budget planning cycle. An internal email sent to city employees and obtained by Gothamist said that in total, the cuts could add up to 15%.

That could amount to billions of dollars in cuts that could affect a wide range of basic services, including schools as well as police, fire and sanitation services, according to the mayor’s office. The size of the city’s total budget is around $107 billion.

An analysis by the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York in June found that child care costs could consume half of the median income for families with young children.

Contributed reporting by Elizabeth Kim.

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