New Yorkers United for Child Care joined City Council Member Shahana Hanif at J.J. Byrne Playground in Park Slope on Feb. 8 to gather petition signatures for free child care for 2 year olds.
The day of action came after Mayor Eric Adams has made annual cuts to Universal 3-K and Pre-K programs since entering office, according to a press release.
Allison Lew, a community organizer with NYUC and a mother of a 3 year old, said members of the nonprofit often talk about how the high cost of child care is draining their savings and pushing them into debt.
A family must make $334,000 in annual income in order to afford the average cost of child care for a 2 year old, according to a recent report from the city Comptroller.
"That is out of reach for most New Yorkers," Lew said. "New York City can expand the free child care we already have for 3- and 4-year-olds with 2-Care and make New York City the best place to raise a family.”
NYUC has gathered hundreds of petition signatures from parents and would-be parents citywide since its campaign launch last month demanding that Adams expand on the city’s 3-K and Pre-K For All programs and implement 2-Care, a program for two yearolds.
"Today’s day of action at J.J. Byrne Playground highlighted a harsh reality: only the wealthiest can afford to start a family in New York City, and that is simply unacceptable," said Council Member Shahana Hanif.
Randi Rivera, a resident of South Slope with a 1 year old, said she has put her career on hold as her family cannot afford child care.
"I was born and raised in the Bronx and want to raise my own family in New York City but it feels almost impossible with how much child care costs," she said.
