Comptroller Lander, Parents, Advocates, and Centers Facing Closure Stand Up for Child Care

Comptroller Lander, Parents, Advocates, and Centers Facing Closure Stand Up for Child Care

New York, NY - Today, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander stood with parents, advocates, and child care providers to call out the Adams Administration for cutting $300 million needed to maintain current levels of child care and early childhood education in his preliminary budget, even as soaring child care costs crush New York City's working families. Last week, Comptroller Lander published an economic spotlight highlighting how unaffordable child care has become for middle- and working-class families - and how children, working parents, and the city's economy would thrive with universal child care.

"For many working families, it costs more to pay for child care than to send a kid to college - and yet Mayor Adams is closing child care centers that offer free, high-quality care in low-income neighborhoods, eliminating 3-K slots, and breaking promises to working class parents," said Comptroller Brad Lander. "Just last week, he said his goal was to make New York City the best place to raise a family in America - but it seems like his trips to Mar-a-Lago and the inauguration must have shifted his priorities."

In his Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2026, Mayor Adams failed to include more than $300 million needed to maintain the City's early childhood education programs at the levels parents have come to rely on, including more than $250 million for the 3K and UPK programs, $25 million for Promise NYC, and $55 million for special education early childhood programs.

A day after announcing the Mayor's preliminary budget, the Adams Administration informed five child care centers serving low-income families that their leases are being terminated and their programs would not be renewed for the upcoming school year (All My Children Daycare and Nursery School in South Jamaica, Queens; Grand Street Settlement's Bushwick Child and Family Center in Brooklyn; Fort Greene Council; Friends of Crown Heights; and Nuestros Niños in Williamsburg).

Today's event was held at Grand Street Settlement, one of the child care providers informed by the Adams Administration that one of their sites would be closed next year.

"It's vital to ensure parents have access to affordable, quality child care without losing essential providers." said Robert Cordero, Chief Executive Officer of Grand Street Settlement. "Child care is unaffordable for families and providers in New York City. We need a universal child care solution that invests in fair wages for educators, offers tax credits for families, and supports providers with streamlined regulations and long-term capital investments in child care centers."

Last week in a new economic spotlight, the Comptroller's Office found that the average cost of child care for toddlers in center-based care was $23,400 in 2024 and a family would need to earn $334,000 to afford the cost of care for a two-year old in New York City, four times the median family income or 10 minimum wage jobs. Between 2020 and 2023, the population of children three and under in New York City declined by 19 percent, with the majority of families who out-migrated being middle-income. More families would choose to remain in New York City if provided with free, high-quality child care, boosting population growth, workforce participation and city revenues.

"We're deeply concerned that Mayor Adams left continued funding for 3-K, preschool special education classes, and Promise NYC out of the preliminary budget. Making New York City the best place to raise a family means ensuring that all children have access to high-quality early learning programs and that, when parents are worried about their preschooler's development, they can get the special education evaluations, classes, and services they need and have a legal right to receive. But right now, we continue to hear from families whose young children are waiting for a seat in a preschool special education class or for needed services in their 3-K or pre-K class," said Kim Sweet, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York.

"Mayor Adams misses no opportunity to show that he is out of touch with what families need in NYC. Families are struggling to find child care, struggling to afford it and struggling to keep making ends meet. Instead of investing in child care, this mayor is cutting, closing programs and pretending that there is no demand. Families have been asking for universal child care, free care and learning for all children. We need real solutions on the city and state level, not cuts and crumbs," said Smitha Milich, Senior Campaign Strategist of Alliance for Quality Education.

"Comptroller Lander's report lays it out clearly: child care in NYC is so expensive that a family must make  $334,000 to afford child care for their 2-year old. No wonder working and middle-class families are leaving en masse. In the midst of an affordability crisis that's driving families out of the city, our mayor has not only refused to expand universal 3-K to include more hours and more ages, but is also proposing even deeper cuts. But we know the answer to this moment. The Comptroller's report highlights the benefits universal child care brings to families and our economy. It's time for our city leaders to step up: fully fund 3-K so that every family gets the seat they were promised-and expand it to include 2-year-olds," said Rebecca Bailin, Executive Director of New Yorkers United for Child Care.

"Child care is not a luxury, it's a necessity," said Nora Moran, Director of Policy & Advocacy at United Neighborhood Houses. "For more than 100 years, settlement houses have offered child care to their communities out of an understanding that early childhood education was good for children, for parents, and for the community as a whole. Comptroller Lander's report lays out in black-and-white what parents already know: Child care is too expensive, and investing in it only helps our city's economy. This is why it's crucial that Mayor Adams restore funding for 3-K, preschool special education, Promise NYC, and more in the FY26 budget. New York City's families cannot be subject to budget games for another year; there is too much at stake for them."

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